Penumbral
by insolentwrath
Summary: A strange new player emerges from the shadows as war approaches the Republic. Inscrutable, yet tied to the mysterious events taking place all over the galaxy, he quickly becomes essential to unraveling the secrets that will define the conflict to come. As the Jedi and Sith Orders alike rush to understand his hidden agenda, Harry Potter searches deep for truths best left hidden.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** **Welcome. This is something that I'll write when I feel, so don't expect consistent updates. Do expect epic shit.**

 _Penumbral:_ of or pertaining to the _penumbra_ , the subtle secondary shadow created by a large light source or multiple light sources, the shadow between darkness and light.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:16, Coruscant._

"Fett failed." The robed figure turned slightly, and the crackling blue image focused in on his face, which held an obvious displeasure. "It is your task now."

"Of course, Dooku," said a man sitting with his feet propped up on a table. "I think I don't need to say _I told you so_. And this time, _I get paid_."

"Naturally. My underlings were perhaps a bit uncharitable the last time around."

"And in full!" said the man as the connection closed.

~penumbral~

Classified, Classified.

 _"How do you defeat a Jedi?" asked a dark, armored figure. "How do you capture, kill, or beat him?"_

 _The Count rolled his eyes. "I do not think I am the one who needs to be schooled on this subject, Mortem."_

 _"Ah," said the man. "But how many Jedi have you fought?"_

 _"More than you, at any rate."_

 _"True, true, but only in a certain sense. But regardless, humor me."_

 _The Count sat, his robes billowing out before him as he gestured to the other man to do the same. "I have only so much time to give."_

 _"The question has intrigued criminals, bounty hunters, revenge-seekers, and killers alike - how to do it?"_

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:17, Coruscant._

Throngs of people passed the pair with nary a glance - though that was the work of the man, who casually walked towards the departure section of the spaceport with a Galactic Senator by his side. After stopping to buy provisions for their journey to Naboo, Anakin had subtly used his powers in a compulsion which directed people's attentions away from them. It worked unsurprisingly well: the precaution not only stopped snooping passerby who could recognize Padmé's face but also potential assassins. The only possible people who could detect them were Force-wielding assassins, which were all Sith. And since not even the Jedi Council knew the details of their travel arrangements, only the final destination, they were safe.

~penumbral~

 _"This is an enemy who can influence the fabric of reality. An enemy who can trick the keenest of minds, the most thoughtful of intellectuals."_

~penumbral~

As they approached the gangway to the ship - not a luxury liner by any measure but comfortable enough -, Anakin flashed a pair of tickets on his holocomm, breaking the compulsion temporarily. As a portly Weequay checked, he sensed a foreign presence - but it wasn't malicious, so much as... he wasn't quite sure. That worried him, but not unduly, and as Padmé grasped his arm lightly and asked, "What's wrong?" he shook his head and muttered an excuse.

From there they ascended into the ship and took their seats, waiting idly for the ship to take off.

~penumbral~

 _"A being who can sense the faintest of threats, the slightest hint of betrayal. She can detect your secret malice."_

 _"Not always," said the Count. "And not consistently."_

 _"The first rule is to assume competence, my friend," said the man._

~penumbral~

As they waited, Anakin watched the spaceport through the window, silently watching people move even as he felt their presences shift through the Force. Something stirred in the air, but he just couldn't tell what. After some minutes of waiting, the ship's engines hummed and lifted it upwards, before it shot off - no, he was being generous - before it lumbered towards the sky.

The ship had barely cleared the top of the highest skyscraper before the engines increased their humming, in time with a warning coming from the Force. As he jumped up, the whine increased beyond hearing, and a trio of Bith in the background began clutching their domed heads.

~penumbral~

 _"Beyond that, you must be dispassionate. It cannot be out of anger that you defeat a Jedi."_

 _"I disagree, having seen a hateful being easily and deftly defeat countless Jedi."_

 _"Perhaps. But for the likes of you and me - no. Your master?"_

 _The Count rose in apprehension. "I am not sure what you are implying -"_

 _"You are not the one pulling the strings, Dooku. Even Fett's son knows this. There is a man - woman? - more powerful than you, controlling your actions. I do not care._

 _"So with an excess of anger the Jedi will detect you and neutralize you."_

~penumbral~

Then one engine exploded, causing the ship to careen dangerously to one side. Anakin ran up to the pilot's cabin, abandoning all pretense of being an ordinary traveler on holiday, and banged on the door. "Official Jedi business!"

A tall Twi'lek male accosted him, pushing him aside. "Many claim to be Jedi, human. They never are."

Sighing, Anakin summoned his lightsaber from its belt, unsheathed it, and cut off the door's locking mechanism with a flick of his hand. The Twi'lek goggled as Anakin kicked down the door.

"Out! Out!"

Inside, alarms buzzed and blared, red and yellow lights flashing all over the place. Several numbers displayed in bright fonts were steadily decreasing by the second.

~penumbral~

 _"Then, you assault him. You immerse him in danger - but not too much -, and allow him to be a hero. A savior. Jedi are always willing to risk their missions to save the day."_

 _"If there's one thing you said with which I cannot agree more," said the Count, "it is this. They claim to follow reason, uninfluenced by passion or emotion, but they cannot resist it. It makes them predictable."_

 _"And how else to defeat a man than to first know his moves, his go-to strategy?"_

~penumbral~

The pilots ran out of the cockpit without complaint, leaving Anakin to take over the controls; unfortunately for him, just then they sparked and fizzled, the lights dying out.

"Blast!"

He took hold of the controls nonetheless, right as the ship hit the side of a residential apartment and began to grind its way towards Coruscant's dirty underbelly.

He pulled the joystick backwards and the ship halted its downwards turn. Two taps to flashing red buttons diverted power to the remaining engines, and the ship jerked, then unsteadily rose, leaning towards one side. Most of the alarms halted their incessant wail.

~penumbral~

 _"You attack him again and again, and wear him down. He starts to make mistakes."_

 _"But never enough and never in time. Many have tried this strategy. Many have failed," admonished the Count._

~penumbral~

He noticed, among the flashing displays, a countdown drop to one, and in the fresh silence in the cockpit, a lone tick distinguished itself, resounding across the room.

"Blasted -" He barrelled out of the cockpit, and caught a glimpse of Padmé's worried face across the ship.

Then the front of the ship exploded.

It propelled him towards the back, and he grabbed Padmé and jumped through the reinforced glass window, striking it in a circle with his lightsaber and pushing it with the Force to weaken it.

~penumbral~

 _"Of course, but that is because they - those failed others - have no vision. You need a secret weapon, an ace in the hole."_

 _The Count pursed his lips thoughtfully, and sat back down. "The Force will work. A Sith assassin, I am sure you know, got the better of one of the senior Jedi nearly a decade ago. They both perished - but to kill a Jedi master? Then, it was unthinkable."_

~penumbral~

The fragments of glass flew down towards Coruscant's deep abyss, but Anakin closed his eyes and simply _felt_.

He could feel Padmé close and warm against him, of course, but he tried not let that distract him. He could also sense the bustle of traffic below him - even though a major accident was occurring right above them, the citizens of Coruscant were always busy and, as long as their precious cars weren't hit by debris, did not care to stop to gawk the sight.

With the right amount of pull and timing augmented by the Force, he landed in the back of some poor soul's car, cushioning Padmé with his body and the Force.

She flushed, then got up and shakily sat down. The man in front, who had slowed his vehicle to a halt, turned around, probably to admonish them, never mind their near-death experience.

Well, if Anakin could say so himself, they were never in danger of dying. Just laceration and bruising was all.

"Official Jedi business," he said tiredly, gesturing to his still-active lightsaber. He deactivated it, noticing that it was scoring the car's smooth leather finish. Mutilating it, actually.

~penumbral~

 _"You need a trick or two to pull it off. Skill. Precision. Or, failing that, timing."_

~penumbral~

That was when the man drew a gun and fired, just as the sense of wrongness which had been on the corner of Anakin's mind for half an hour now suddenly burst into the fore; Anakin drew his lightsaber in a flash to defend against the point-blank shot, but it was too little and too late as he realized Padmé was the target. Of course.

Red overcame his vision. He jumped towards the man, no thoughts of disarming or capture in mind - he thrust his blade forward with a yell, and... nothing.

He watched the man's figure as it fell through the sky. The kriffing bastard had _jumped_. No jetpack, no parachute, nothing. Anakin had a split-second decision to make.

He rushed back to Padmé, who had a dart stuck in her neck, pumping her full of something - very likely the same poison that had been in those insects the changeling bounty hunter had released. Then he activated his holocomm with a repeating emergency broadcast - Obi-Wan would receive it up and inform the Council. Unless there was another assassin lurking around, Padmé would be safe.

And besides, he needed the extra information. Three assassination attempts within a span of days - and one succeeded, except she wasn't dead, only in some sort of coma.

After a few mental calculations - he should be able to slow down from terminal velocity easily with the Force, he reckoned -, he turned and jumped in after the assassin.

~penumbral~

 _"And you make your weapons untraceable." The armored man held up a lone dart to the light._

 _"Not, as far as I can tell, matching any Outer Rim designs," noted the Count._

 _The man wrinkled his face behind the visor. "That's more of Fett's style. No, this is a standard Corellian dart. But unlike the darts of some low-game smuggler, one of these even brushes you and you won't wake up."_

 _"Ever?"_

 _"Until I want you to."_

 _The Count scoffed. "The power of the Force -"_

 _"Sure, sure. But against non-Jedi, it works fine."_

 _"I am no Jedi."_

 _"And here I was, sitting here, thinking I was able to kill you. As just described. No, you're not a Jedi, Count Dooku. But you have the Force."_

 _Count Dooku smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. Then he got up from his seat. "Unfortunately for you, Mr. Black, you have not received the job. Ten thousand credits could be better spent paying some janitor's wages, and besides, Fett offered to do it for less." The Count's smile broadened slightly at the man's reaction: he twitched, but did not object to Dooku's casual use of the man's real name - or the insult, for that matter. So his sources were accurate. That was reassuring to know; before this, the man's identity had been a veritable fortress - as if he had, before two years ago, simply never existed._

 _But Count Dooku always found a way._

 _"You're staying with Fett, then? Give me a call when he fails."_

 _"Fett never fails."_

 _The man scoffed under his dark red mask. "And here I was, thinking that you were intelligent, that you'd earned the privilege of learning my real name."_

 _That, evidently, was enough to shock the Count._

 _"All the money in the Confederacy didn't tell you that little nugget of information, did it? I'm not Sirius Black and I'm certainly not Mortem. There's a lot about the galaxy that you simply. Don't. Know."_

 _With that, Harry Potter sauntered casually out of the room._

~penumbral~

After stowing away his dart-gun, Harry had noticed almost immediately that the Jedi - Skywalker, if he remembered correctly - had jumped after him.

The bastard had _jumped_. No jetpack, no parachute, nothing.

It was admittedly impressive, the confidence in the Force and Jedi powers required to make such a decision.

It was also foolish; had Harry actually wanted to kill the Senator, he would have had another man lurking above, waiting for the pair to separate.

Well, Harry supposed that if he wanted to kill the Senator, he would already have won. No, Dooku only wanted incapacitation. But if he ever wanted the Senator to wake up again, he'd be facing a surprise fee. After all, Harry had a monopoly on antidotes to the Draught of Living Death.

As he grinned from the thought, he evaluated his options. He could Apparate away, but he'd rather not reveal all his cards to the Jedi, even if Skywalker assumed he had a cloaking device. The problem was, Harry actually did have a cloaking device, and would rather nobody suspect - even for the wrong reasons - that he had one.

With his left hand he drew a repeating blaster from its holster and fired a stream of rounds at Skywalker. His right hand, of course, always grasped his wand.

The Jedi twisted in the air, dodging the first volley, and then drew his lightsaber in mid-air to parry the next.

Harry cursed as he avoided the scattering bolts.

Skywalker was becoming a nuisance, he decided, as the Jedi streamlined his body and shot towards Harry. But the Count had been very specific in his orders.

Harry decided to beat a hasty retreat as Skywalker neared blade-range.

" _Arresto Momentum_!" He poured power into the muttered charm, nearly bringing himself to a halt in the air. Skywalker shot past, and then Harry canceled the charm and allowed himself to fall now that Skywalker couldn't reach him.

" _Accio_ speeder!" Far below, he could see the glimmer of headlights casting an ethereal glow into the fog. These grew closer and closer, until the speeder emerged from the abyss.

The strain on his waning control grew greater as the speeder came closer; he had essentially lifted a hundred-pound speeder miles in barely half a minute, which was quite naturally hard to maintain while free-falling and avoiding a murderous Jedi simultaneously.

"I need a remote control," he muttered to himself, as the speeder passed Skywalker.

And then the blasted Jedi carved his precious vehicle in half.

"Shit!" But surface damage could be easily remedied.

" _Reparo_!"

He cast when the smoldering parts of the speeder grew level with him, and then jumped onto the reassembling machine. Unfortunately, his hasty charm could not fix all of the scoring damage performed by the lightsaber - burn damage was one of the hidden weaknesses of the repairing charm. Nonetheless, the speeder turned on when he pushed the controls, and rose in the air.

Skywalker yelled expletives far below when he realized Harry had repaired the speeder and as the man shot off into the sky.

~penumbral~

Harry's tête-à-tête with Skywalker, unfortunately, had taken a little too long. As he neared the car where he had shot the Senator - and it had been a masterful stroke indeed to summon Skywalker towards his car -, sirens began to blare.

He noticed a lightly bearded Jedi in the back of the car, bent over the Senator Amidala, as five ships bearing massive guns descended around him.

"Coruscant Security Force! In the name of the Galactic Republic and the Senate, we order you to drop the weapon and stand down. You have five seconds to comply."

Harry debated the relative merit of Apparating away, jumping back in after Skywalker, or staying where he was, and decided that he didn't want to reveal too many cards of his own.

Instead, temporary submission might in fact prove the best approach. He slipped his wand into his invisible mokeskin pouch as he dropped the repeating blaster, raising his hands in the air.

After all, his weapons could be replaced, but an all-expense-paid trip into the bowels of the Jedi Temple? That was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"No need to shoot. I surrender."

Obi-wan Kenobi smiled grimly, and stood up. "Then I take you into custody of the Jedi Order."

~penumbral~

 **A/N: If you ever enjoyed a chapter or even a single idea I wrote, please do leave a review stating why. It helps. And if you find flaws in the chapter - typos, grammatical mistakes, potential plot holes -, do not hesitate to inform me via review as well! And if you wish to flame, go ahead. It's your time you're wasting, and it's comedic gold for me.**

 **Edit: I decided to add dates and times when a scene is first introduced and wherever else it is unclear to reduce ambiguity; understand that, especially later, these may not align with canon dates. Nor will events later on follow canon - feel free to ding me if I'm too compliant -, but themes may appear.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Antumbral:_ of or pertaining to the _antumbra_ , the subtle tertiary shadow only noticeable when the light source is considerably larger than the occluding object, the lighter shadow within the darkness.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:17, Coruscant._

The Jedi, unlike some Harry could name - though that was a story for another time -, were quite civilized. That was to be expected, what with them representing, to some effect, the largest, one of the oldest, and the most respected governing body in the galaxy. The Hutts were older, but smaller and certainly not more respected, unless respect was measured in credits.

He was only handcuffed, not blindfolded or knocked out or what-have-you. The ride towards the Jedi Temple, while no long affair, was quite the sight sitting across from a stern Jedi and two men with thick guns.

Besides, for once there was no traffic, but that was one of the perks of riding in a government vehicle. The only perk, really.

Harry shook his hands, trying to rid himself of an itch which formed right where the handcuffs scraped uncomfortably against his skin. Then he resumed his appreciation of the sights of Coruscant - 500 Republica, the Galactic Senate building, and, finally, the Jedi Temple soaring grandly ahead.

Harry had seen pictures, of course, and had even reviewed the few building plans that remained public throughout the years.

That is to say, he had reviewed plans of the building's exterior in great depth. Even past the front doors, though, was a complete mystery. Well, that was not completely true - pictures floated around on the HoloNet of this schoolchild's trip to the Jedi Temple or that politician's official visit. Virtual tours existed on the organization's propaganda holosite.

But those all conveniently strayed from the more interesting areas of the Jedi Temple - and rightly so. If Harry owned a building complex populated by badass magic-wielding warriors, he'd make the floor plans secret, or better yet, have them change constantly. That is to say, he'd make Hogwarts.

Of course, the Jedi couldn't use magic in the same sense that he could, so they couldn't use that particular trick, although he was sure that with the proper application of whatever technological gizmos they had here, they could make it work.

Luckily for him, they didn't.

Obi-Wan coughed roughly.

Harry, lost in his musings, suddenly looked up. "Yes?"

"I was saying, perhaps we should conduct some preliminary questions."

"Oh, of course. Bring it on."

"Name?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

The Jedi Master was unfazed. "Age?"

"What is this, a government form you're reading from?"

"Do you have an answer?"

"No."

"Level of education?"

"Now you've got to be kidding me."

"I assure you I am very serious, Mr. Black," said Kenobi.

"Your sources finally got back to you? Took you long enough. The speeder purchase was with an account obviously tied back to the bounty hunter Mortem. My armor and weapons are indicative of his preferred style."

"Your face, too, Mr. Black, but you are diverting my inquiries." Obi-Wan leaned forward, clasping his hands together. "Let me get straight to the point. Who hired you to attack Padmé Amidala, and what poison did you use to incapacitate her?"

"Can I get my holocall?"

"Your holocall?"

"A prisoner always gets one phone call, or is the Republic too barbaric for due process of law?"

"You only get one?" asked Kenobi.

Harry sighed. "Let me, as well, get to the point. The person who hired me is the same person who hired the bounty hunter before me. As for the poison, I don't think you'll find it anywhere anytime soon. As in, quite possibly nowhere in the known galaxy."

"The Kaminoan hired you."

"The who?"

"The one who fired this dart." Kenobi held up the dart which had killed the changeling bounty hunter. "We first suspected that you were one and the same, but this is, as I mentioned, a Kaminoan saberdart. Yours is Corellian standard."

"Where exactly is Kamino?"

"Outer Rim. Beyond that I'm not at the liberty to say."

"Of course."

"You know the man," stated Kenobi. It was not a question.

It was obviously Fett he was looking for, but Harry wasn't about to tell him that. That is, not without a little monetary compensation - or information. Besides, this little information game was quite fun.

"A thousand credits." Harry didn't think the man would accept - he obviously had a lead which he was already pursuing -, but just to gauge how interested Kenobi was, he offered anyway.

"No, I think I have what I need already." Obi-Wan spared a glance at the two Coruscant Security Force officers besides him. "Besides, I think our friends over here might object."

Just then, the ship landed in a hangar of the Jedi Temple. Harry stood and descended alongside the Jedi Master, and the ship rose and flew away. "You know, Kenobi, if you're ever in need of some... extracurricular help, I'm always available. Like right now. A piece of advice, if you will, for a credit?"

"You're quite the opportunist," said Kenobi. The Jedi pursed his lips, then flipped Harry a single credit chit, who awkwardly caught it in his manacled hands and clasped them together to prevent it from falling.

"Be extremely cautious, and leave no loose ends open. You don't know what you're getting yourself into, and there are far more dangerous men in the galaxy than a mere bounty hunter. You cannot afford a single mistake."

"Says the man who allowed himself to be caught in the act of assassinating a Galactic Senator."

"Allowed himself indeed. And I did not mean to kill anyone! I only meant to maim,... or seriously injure!"

Obi-Wan grimaced and led him away.

~penumbral~

Harry found the journey to the Temple's holding cells quite enlightening, as it passed right by the Archives and through a decent portion of the secured area of the Temple. The part behind the doors which say Authorized Personnel Only, but in Aurebesh.

The journey had been mostly silent, punctuated by Harry asking about this or that section of the Temple. Kenobi had, intelligently, chosen not to answer.

Right before the Jedi deposited him in a cell, though, the two were intercepted by Mace Windu.

"Interrogation will start immediately," said Mace. "And you might want to put a temporary hold on your investigation, Obi-Wan, until you hear what this man has to say."

Windu practically dragged Harry into the cell and dumped him in a chair, before taking a seat on the opposite side of a small table.

The man, Harry could tell, exuded seriousness - which he could respect. But every once in awhile, he felt, it was good to rattle authority figures a little. Bureaucrats like Fudge and Umbridge, Ministry workers like Percy, and even Headmasters like Dumbledore.

Not to mention Snape.

Windu seemed more the Snape type of serious, but without the a priori dislike which had defined Harry's relationship with the man.

Actually, from the way Windu was glaring at him, perhaps the dislike was there. But at least it was for something Harry did, rather than his father's sins.

Obi-Wan entered a minute later, bearing a stack of holodevices which he tossed onto the table.

"You're wanted in seven systems. You've killed people, kidnapped others, and destroyed families for money. Does the Bothawui Escapade ring a bell? Then there are the rumors -" Windu picked up a holo and slid it towards Harry. "- that you played a role in the extortion of famed antiques dealer Shrack Tunce. And -" Mace Windu stopped reading, uncertain. He looked up at Obi-Wan, then back down at the holo.

Harry smiled, and watched the Jedi Master internally debate whether to say what he was about to say.

"And you've been indicted for twenty counts of plagiarism?" This was more of a question than a statement.

"Do I get to plead, or are you going to assume I'm guilty from the start?"

"This, coming from a man who incapacitated a Galactic Senator? Let me make it clear. You will never see the outside of a jail cell in your life, Black. But if you cooperate, it doesn't have to be an unpleasant experience."

"You do not need to be quite so harsh, Mace," said Obi-Wan. "Perhaps we can come to an agreement with Mr. Black here."

Harry yawned. "Don't bore me with a good cop, bad cop routine. Just get to the point."

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Well, the seven systems are all not part of the Republic and noted for their savagery. The killing, kidnapping, and destroying families - the only people to which I've done this were, I assure you, far more terrible people than you or I, and also conveniently the targets of several legitimate bounties, which I collected. The rumors about this Tunce figure will remain rumors until substantiated by evidence, which you seem to lack.

"And the plagiarism, well. All I wanted was to make a little money on the side, you know, as my bounty hunter career began to start up. Work was slow, I hadn't quite made a name for myself yet. And _Wanderings with Werewolves_ was a completely original fictional work, let me tell you - I almost made a sequel. Young protagonist Gilderoy Lockhart was extremely popular, especially with children of the Kuati elite. I remember the cute little notes they used to send me -"

"Get to the point, Black."

Harry flashed the Jedi Masters a grin. "Anyway, apparently the concept of a man transforming into a pack animal was copyrighted on Kuat by some uncultured snob who'd never put stylus to holopad in his life. You know, a patent troll."

Mace Windu did know, but the Jedi Order had the convenient position of winning any copyright or patent suit that was brought against them. Not that there had been such an incident in the past ten years, but a little before the Naboo incident some angry arms dealer or the other had tried to patent the lightsaber. On Corellia. He was promptly decimated by the court system and the Order, and the Corellian Jedi hadn't taken to kindly to the man's presence in the system, either.

"So sue me for writing a story that brought hope to _sad children_ in need of -"

"We get the idea," said Obi-Wan. "And we must note, for the record, that you were, in fact, sued for writing that story."

Harry ground his teeth at the terrible joke - if it was one. He wasn't sure if Kenobi was the joking type.

"We're not here about the rest of your crimes, though, Black," said Windu. "We're here for the serious crime of assaulting an elected member of the Galactic Senate. There is no way that you can escape the law."

"Well, if I may. The Senator was not actually acting in her position as Senator at the time of this attack. So, if I had performed the crime - and I'm not saying that I did -, then I'd be innocent of that charge, at least, and only guilty of incapacitating a private citizen and, I suppose, of endangering the lives of a hundred more. And I would be liable for some amount of damages to whatever company's ship they were on."

Mace narrowed his eyes. "You knew of the transfer of power from Senator Amidala to Acting Senator Binks - before it was officially announced."

"I have my sources."

Windu folded his arms. "Regardless -"

Obi-Wan tapped Mace Windu's arm urgently, and showed him something.

"It seems that Anakin has a report to give," said Mace after a moment, "and it's not particularly favorable for you."

Harry shrugged. "Of course." That was when he played his trump card.

"But I have diplomatic immunity. I represent the Pelior System, which is considering entering the Galactic Republic." He paused. "Or the Confederacy."

Mace groaned and Obi-Wan folded his arms. "I don't believe it," said Kenobi.

"I do," said Windu, studying a holopad. "Wanted on seven systems, five of which happen to be enemies of the Pelior System, a repeating blaster marked with the insignia of the Pelior royalty, the Senator incapacitated in the back of a car, Black's car, bought with Pelior funds - not that they particularly matter in the large scheme of things, but laws are laws, and contravening diplomatic immunity -"

"Could very well upset Pelior, causing a fuss and most likely lead to more systems leaving the Republic and joining the Confederacy, yes. And since I didn't actually assault a Senator serving in their capacity, only a private citizen, and since nobody actually died, I'm safe."

"An admission of guilt, Sirius Black? Remember, we can still hold you up to a day for further interrogation."

Harry gestured with his clasped hands. "Be my guest. Do keep in mind, though, that nothing short of fifteen thousand credits and a free pass out of jail - and a tour of the Jedi Temple, to boot - will get me to talk. And I won't name my employer, or what poison is in that dart. It's bad for long-term business relationships, you know, if a bounty hunter has a reputation for disloyalty."

~penumbral~

Windu and Kenobi were unable to glean any more information from him, and eventually departed, no doubt to return with more information or different interrogators.

They would not succeed. Harry idly clasped and unclasped his fingers, careful not to drop the lone credit Obi-Wan had given him. He waved at the camera a couple of times - an awkward affair with the handcuffs - and put his legs up on the table.

By now Dooku would know of his capture - and probably the bastard hadn't paid him yet, waiting to see if he'd get out of a jail sentence before depositing the money.

Now, the only question was whether Harry cared to waste his time sitting around in the Jedi's cell. The alternative was certainly attractive, but he resolved to submit to another round of questioning. After that, if the Jedi didn't turn him loose, he'd do it himself.

Two hours and twenty botched hummings of "God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs" later, Windu finally arrived again, this time with Yoda. The old Jedi Grandmaster was intimidating due to his impressive reputation, though the Jedi didn't particularly look stern or forbidding. That was Windu's job.

Mace stood in a corner of the room and folded his arms.

Harry knew that they were trying to get him to speak first, so he remained silent. After a minute of staring, Yoda closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply.

Harry could feel the peaceful power emanating from the Jedi, and recoiled slightly at first. The calmness was powerful, and almost rejuvenating.

Eventually, Harry decided to stop wasting his time. "I don't have any more answers for you."

"Hide from the light, the shadows cannot. Given information to us, you already have."

"You're Force sensitive," said Mace Windu calmly. "You reacted to Master Yoda's meditation."

"I'm a what?" asked Harry in as calm a voice as he could, trying to imitate his eleven-year-old self - incredulous at the thought that he was anything special.

Windu eyed him suspiciously, but didn't comment.

"Unusual to go unnoticed for so long, it is, yes."

"I'm new to these parts, shall we say."

Windu looked up sharply at that. "Outer Rim? I would've guessed Coruscant or Talravin from your accent."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe I picked it up recently. It's all a mystery to you."

"More than sensitivity, see in you I do not." Yoda stood up. "Nothing more here I have to discuss."

"I'll take it from here," said Windu. He sat down as Yoda walked out the door, leaning on his cane.

"I suppose that explains part of your unnatural aptitude," said Mace as the door clanged shut. "Force sensitive. Makes you harder to kill, and more able to pierce through Force-based illusions and trickery. It's how you tracked Anakin, I assume."

Harry leaned back, tipping the chair and balancing on the back two legs. Then he let himself fall forward with a clatter. "What?" he asked, when he saw the Jedi Master's stare. "Waiting for me to say yes?"

"But perhaps you are more than meets the eye." Mace paused, considering. Then he continued. "We have a Sith Lord hiding in the shadows and we have you, a Force-sensitive bounty hunter who assaulted a Galactic Senator -" Harry coughed.

Windu rolled his eyes. "A Senator who, granted, was temporarily inactive, but one who happens to have ties to the Naboo incident around a decade ago, when a mysterious Sith assassin killed a Jedi Master. And the incident after which we inducted Anakin into the Jedi Order, the same Jedi who you recently outsmarted."

"I got lucky," said Harry, making a humble nod.

"It couldn't have just been luck to get the better of Anakin Skywalker, Mr. Black."

"So you think I'm this oh-so-mysterious Sith Lord hiding in the shadows?" asked Harry. "Because it would be quite stupid of me to let myself within ten meters of Yoda. He'd figure me out in an instant."

"That's the thing," said Mace. "A darkness clouds the Sith Lord and his person. We would not be able to divine his identity, even if he were right in front of us - only suspect." He rose and leaned in towards Harry.

"Still, even if I were this super secret Dark Lord figure, I probably wouldn't be wasting my time here."

"Yes. We left you alone to see what you would do, but you displayed behavior which, if I know anything about Sith Lords, is highly uncharacteristic of the Sith Order."

"So you finally realized I'm actually innocent?" Harry shook his cuffs.

"No. You still attacked Amidala, and if I am correct, you did it on the orders of the Sith."

"The Sith. I'm not even sure what they are, still. Some sort of counter-Jedi?"

"That is accurate enough. But they are dedicated to the destruction of the Republic and for the increase in their own power - not anyone else's well being."

"They do have a lot of money," mused Harry.

Windu smiled. "So you have been in contact with them."

"No, just rumors. Hints of something - though not by that name, Sith - with an agenda and a plan for the future. Employing criminals, bounty hunters, and worse for the Confederacy."

"We've known the Confederacy was tied to the Sith for a long time. The question is whether Count Dooku is still on the right side of things."

Harry remained nonchalant. "I wouldn't know." And indeed, he did not - but he had his suspicions.

Mace Windu sighed. "We'll be keeping you a little longer, Black. I don't think you've told us even half of the truth."

The man rose and exited the room.

~penumbral~

After an artistic rendition of the Magical Britain Ministerial Anthem - he didn't believe that existed until he had heard it, either - by banging his feet against the table, Harry decided it was time to leave.

The Jedi had learned he was Force-sensitive, but that was no loss as they suspected nothing further. And in return, they gave him a wonderful tour - in handcuffs - of the Jedi Temple.

And if he had his way, he might just revisit a bit of it. He could get a decent sum of money out of accurate plans - though it wasn't as if schematics of the Temple would help prospective criminals any.

He began to hum and concentrated on his clasped hands and the credit within. Slowly but surely it began to heat up as he pushed magic into it, and then it began to vibrate. Eventually, the camera in the corner fizzled and sparked as the magic interfered with its electronics. Excellent.

Now unworried about being caught on tape, Harry bent his head over and bit the top of his invisible mokeskin pouch, before muttering, "Wand."

His wand appeared, and he bit down on it to stop it from falling to the floor.

" _Relashio_." The handcuffs clicked open, and Harry twisted his wrists and sighed in satisfaction.

Then he blasted open the door, causing alarms to blare loudly from the ceiling, and casually strolled out of his cell.

~penumbral~

The Jedi Temple was surprisingly devoid of mechanical defenses, as it seemed they relied on the ability of individual Jedi to detect and neutralize threats more than security turrets and the like. Unfortunately for them, he wasn't half bad at hiding his intentions from detection - basic Occlumency trick. Still, he was sure that Jedi were on the way, tracking him through the camera system. So far none of the Jedi he passed seemed to care that he was here, likely uninformed of the escape and, for that matter, of his capture.

He passed a pair of younglings playing tag, and began to commit the location of another grand hall into memory.

Near-perfect recall was a skill that a fully fledged Occlumens could attain.

Unfortunately for Harry, he hadn't even fully mastered Occlumency, never having set aside the time to meditate long enough to establish inner peace or whatever it was.

In his defense, he could protect his mind perfectly well against Legilimency without the full skill range of Occlumency, and it didn't look like Snape had exactly achieved this inner peace, either, so it clearly wasn't necessary for competency in the mental arts.

Instead, it took conscious effort and a whole deal of concentration to memorize things. That was why he was more than slightly displeased when a trio of Jedi, led by Mace Windu himself, rushed through the opposite door and drew their lightsabers, and, obviously, breaking his focus.

"Black! Surrender peacefully, or face the consequences."

"Honestly, Mace, I swear - the camera shorted out and the door blew open. I was afraid something else in the room was going to explode, so I decided to leave. And you said you were releasing me soon, anyways." He sniffed. "A diplomat from the Pelior system should not be subjected to such indignities."

Windu apparently did not appreciate being referred to by his first name, and raised his blade threateningly.

"How could I have blown the door from the inside? I don't have any weapons, see?"

Harry threw up his hands, tossing a packet of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder into the air. The room turned black, the lightsabers barely casting a dull glow, and Harry ran.

Luckily, he was relatively close to the entrance, and by the time someone had the bright idea of stopping the suspicious guy who was running away to ask him what he was doing, he simply sidestepped and shot out through the front doors of the temple.

He pushed past two Jedi and came face-to-face with none other than a dirtied Skywalker, who had apparently not enjoyed his jaunt into Lower Coruscant. The man's face contorted in anger as he recognized Harry, who quickly skipped past the Jedi and, for the second time in as much as hours, jumped off the ledge.

Skywalker made to follow, but was stopped by the firm hand of Mace Windu. "No. We've wasted enough time on him as it is. The Jedi Council has decided to reassign you."

"I'm with Obi-Wan, then?"

"No. Obi-Wan will find our mystery bounty hunter alone - he is more than capable."

"Why are you jumping at shadows when the guy you want is right there?" Anakin gestured angrily towards the ledge.

"We interrogated Sirius Black for multiple hours, and he turned out to be a dead end."

Anakin looked straight into Mace Windu's eyes. "What do you mean by that? You just let him go?"

"He was going to be released within twelve hours regardless," said Mace. "He had diplomatic immunity. From the Pelior system, on the Outer Rim."

"Never heard of it."

"And to the Pelior system is where you will go, to get to the bottom of this. The Council suspects that Pelior has active Confederacy agents, possibly tied to the Sith. Keep your eyes open for any links to the name Sirius Black, or the bounty hunter Mortem."

"I assume that this Mortem character, this Sirius Black - he is the man who, within a day, has jumped into the Coruscant Undercity not once but twice? And who assaulted a Galactic Senator?"

"Yes. We have Senator Amidala at the nearest hospital, by the way, and under heavy guard. Until we can revive her, she will remain protected.

"Good luck, Anakin, and may the Force be with you."

The young Jedi smiled. Sirius Black may be good, but nobody yet had managed to hide secrets from Anakin Skywalker.

~penumbral~

Deep below, a dark figure dropped neatly into a hovering red car. On the side was a clean, black mark which, despite its color, seemed to glow. The form of a triangle and inscribed circle, bisected by a vertical line, cut itself into the night for a few seconds longer before the figure positioned his hands on the controls, and shot off into the night.

~penumbral~

 **A/N: Perhaps a little less action-packed, but I hope you enjoyed the verbal sparring.**

 **I will say, I loved the enthusiastic response. Any and all advice- by PM or review - is correlated to a story with better style and pacing. The overall plot, though, is not much subject to change. So don't whine when Harry dies. (Wait, what? Just kidding.)**


	3. Chapter 3

_Umbral:_ of or pertaining to the _umbra_ , the primary, conical shadow cast by an object in a light source.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:19, Pelior._

It took two days of hyperspace travel for Anakin to arrive in the Pelior system. As he drew out of hyperspace, a communication came in from Master Windu.

"Yes?"

"Anakin. Analysis of the substance Black used to escape indicates it being a fine powder, of sorts, which somehow blackened the room so much that our lightsabers didn't pierce through it."

"That's concerning, Master."

"It is. I want you to look for the source of this powder, and see if you can't find anything in the Pelior system. But if you can't - try to get a handle on Black. Be subtle, first, but if you need to you can mention his arrest and detainment."

"Of course, Master Windu."

"We need information. The Sith are tied to this plot somehow, and we need to figure out before it's too late."

"Any news on the poison he used on Padmé?"

"We cannot trace it back to any known source, and it shows no matches with the other bounty hunter's dart. Poke around Pelior a little, but be careful. One scratch with something dipped in that poison, and even a Jedi might pass out - it's potent."

"Understood. Any information on Pelior in the archives?"

"According to HoloNet queries, the only thing of note about Pelior is that it was the site of the final battle of one of the Old Wars. The showdown in Kwymar Sector. But the Jedi Archives tell a different story."

"More hidden secrets discovered, within days of each other?" asked Anakin.

"This time, it was the Jedi who intentionally obscured this secret. The real final battle was elsewhere. Pelior was only a prelude."

"And where is this mystery final planet?"

"That's classified information, Anakin. I'm sorry, but only a member of the Council can access it."

Anakin drew in a breath. If this mystery planet was deemed dangerous enough to restrict to only the Council, it must be steeped in the dark side of the Force. And, by association, Pelior had a good chance of being the same.

"Do you think any of this is relevant to Black?" asked Anakin.

Windu's face was all he needed. "Anakin, we have no handle on this man's motives or abilities, except that he's a Force sensitive - Master Yoda confirmed it himself. If Pelior has any history or connection to the Sith, old or new, we need to know."

"When were you planning on telling me that Black can use the Force?"

"He cannot use it, Anakin, only barely touch it. Do not worry about supernatural abilities when it comes to Sirius Black."

"I'll keep my eyes peeled for Sith activity. Or for Sith history." Anakin closed the connection and directed his fighter towards the central planet.

Soon, his comms lit up with a request, and an orbiting satellite installation flashed with warning lights. He took the call, and a screen popped up displaying a brown-haired man leaning back on a metal throne.

"It is good to see you, Master Jedi."

"I'm not a Master," Anakin replied almost automatically.

"Oh, of course. You have my apologies." The man paused. "Whatever brings you to my domain?"

"I'm here on a mission from the Republic, to check whether Pelior meets the standards for entry into the Galactic Senate."

"I'm sure you will find that nothing is out of place, here."

Anakin made to speak but the man waved him off. "I understand. Rules to be followed, laws to checked - but I hope you will enjoy your stay, Mister Jedi."

"You can call me Anakin."

"And you can call me King Cade Pelior."

~penumbral~

"From what you've shown me, and what I've seen of the city and towns, it all looks good and regulations-compliant," said Anakin on the first night staying with the King. He had been invited to a fine dinner in the presence of the King himself, and though he didn't prefer the rich foods Cade served him, he couldn't well deny the man.

"Then I see no need to prolong your stay further."

"But the Jedi Order does have one concern in mind."

"Do tell."

"Sirius Black."

A dark look crossed the man's eyes. Then the King leaned back, and laughed. "Of course it was him. Tell me, what did he do to so upset you?"

"He was detained three days ago for assaulting and incapacitating a Galactic Senator, for endangering a ship full of innocent civilians, and for threatening a Jedi."

Cade waved his hand. "As the King of Pelior, I'm sure it was a misunderstanding that has been cleared up. Unofficially, I will say -" He leaned forward conspiratorially. "- that I am not surprised. Sirius Black is a disgusting man, to whom I owed only one favor. It has been repaid, and now, let me wash my hands of him and speak no further."

Anakin narrowed his eyes. "If you dislike him, then help me discover the truth about him."

"Help the Jedi?" The man gave a scornful laugh. "My father would be ashamed, and his father before him, and all the way up the line. This planet has been occupied by Mandalorians and some others - what the records only name as Sith, enemy of the Jedi - many times in the distant past. It is our heritage, the only thing which makes the Pelior royalty strong. Why must I aid you?"

Anakin thought for a moment. The only way to persuade this man that helping Anakin was the correct course of action would be to convince him that they shared a common foe, and to overplay Black's arrogance and power. Luckily, Anakin had anecdotal evidence of both.

"This man strolled out of his jail cell as if there was no security and jumped into the Coruscant Undercity without a jetpack, after assaulting and incapacitating a Galactic Senator, King Pelior. As you are soon to join the Republic, and since you hold a grievance against this man, I imagine it will only help you to help me."

King Pelior grew serious, and leaned forward. "Know this, Anakin Skywalker. Sirius Black is a dangerous man, yes, but also a reasonable one. As long as you do not interfere with his business, he will not interfere with yours. I have chosen that path."

"But he did interfere in my business. He assaulted a Senator under my protection," said Anakin.

"Ah. Resent. It is humiliating, I grant, when Sirius Black first gets the better of you. But believe me when I tell you it lessens the more times he defeats you."

It was Anakin's turn to lean forward. "He's beaten you before?"

"Of course. I am sure you have wondered how Sirius Black came to earn the favor which allowed him to temporarily serve as ambassador for the Pelior system. A choice which, apparently, was mistaken."

"Tell me."

"It all began two years ago, when Red Sabacc ruled Pelior."

"Red Sabacc?"

"They're a modest sized criminal racket associated mostly with piracy, though that has died down a bit now that the Confederacy and Trade Federation actively police their shipping routes. Quite unlike the Republic, I must add."

Anakin's lips thinned. "And what happened?"

"There was a sizable Resistance in underground support of restoring the monarchy. That would be me, by the way. We put out a call through criminal connections for someone willing to kill the local Red Sabacc leader, Sinjar Miloy."

"And he did."

"Yes, but he did much more than that. He captured Miloy, and made him sing like a bird before bringing us back his corpse, giving us all the access codes and authorization to take control of the wonderful satellite installation which greeted you on the way in, as well as the Red Sabacc base on the moon. And then within the span of a day, all of the senior officers - thugs, really - under Sinjar's employ went mysteriously missing. A few were found crushed up inside a trash compactor. I don't think Red Sabacc ever knew who did it, but it doesn't matter either way - they tried once to retake the planet, then gave it up as lost when we repelled them. It was a most marvelous space battle." Cade stared off in thought. "I would tell Red Sabacc it was him so they could post a modest bounty, but I despise them more than I despise him."

"Did Black help you then?"

"Not then, no, although I've heard - objectively - that his skills as a pilot are quite exceptional."

"You don't know where he came from, before that, only that he was a bounty hunter."

"He did indicate that piloting was one of his first jobs. He's done a lot more impressive things over the past two years, but I'm not too sure on the details. Our relationship was coolly antagonistic, at best."

"It's not every day you get contracted to take out a Senator," said Anakin. "He must have earned the reputation somehow."

The King took a swig of juice from a golden goblet. "Now, was there anything else you'd like to know?"

"Why do you hate Black so much?"

"Men like him - brilliant people who work outside the law, or within its gray areas - stand against everything my father and I believed in. It's the reason organizations like Red Sabacc exist, it's why bounty hunters, smugglers, and slavers run rampant in this galaxy. He reminds me of -" Cade's face darkened, and he said no more.

Anakin watched in silence as the King collected his thoughts. It was clear that the man had terrible experiences with similar men in the past. "Did Black do anything questionable in his time here?"

"Other than kill at least twenty men in the night? I can't say much to that, but it was obvious that the job - getting rid of Red Sabacc and Miloy - wasn't the only thing on Black's agenda."

"I'm listening."

"He spent on the order of five days on this planet. Long enough to secure the praise and undying gratitude of the incompetent government officials which grace my planet - and long enough to secure my disgust -, but short enough that there are only two possible leads that I have for you to pursue."

"And they are?"

"The first is the symbol of the Pelior royalty." Cade pointed to the wall, where a triangle, circle, and line sat etched into the wall. "It is only two decades old; it was invented by my father. Nonetheless, Black found it to be of historical significance. Kept on questioning whether it originated during the times of old. I told him that if it bore any special meaning to him, then that much was a coincidence. Perhaps it would do you well to look for other instances of the same symbol. That was Black's hypothesis, anyway - independent generation. He didn't tell me any more about it."

Anakin decided that this piece of information was not entirely useful at the moment; he'd have Master Windu run searches in the Jedi Archives, but a hunch told him they'd find nothing. "And the second?"

"Black visited the Graveyard of Ages before leaving. We have no idea what he found there, only logs of his general location as he sifted through the ruins. He seemed to be looking for something."

"Are you sure that this is all you know?"

Cade Pelior met Anakin's level gaze. "Yes, it is."

Anakin rose, and began to pace. If only he had been more vigilant, this whole Sirius Black situation wouldn't have come up in the first place. Padmé would be safe, and everything would be fine.

Yet at the same time, he realized that it was for the better that Sirius Black wasn't allowed to skulk around the galaxy unchecked any longer. At least now the Jedi Order knew of him, and could account for his future actions should the future of the Republic seem threatened. And in these times, it very much did.

"We know nothing about his past. And his future. There are many things at stake - even I don't know half of it -, and the Jedi Order needs to know everything we can about people like Black. Where he has connections. Where he got his job to attack the Senator from Naboo. Something's on the horizon, I can sense it. I just don't know what it is."

"Other than the information I have already given you, I can only tell you one more thing. Whatever Black does when he's not fighting or doing a job - when he asks for money, when he makes a flippant remark, or anything else -, understand that he's testing you. Gauging your reaction."

"We already figured that part out," said Anakin.

"Then I can be of no further assistance. I hope you have enjoyed your stay, Anakin Skywalker."

"Thank you for the information." Anakin rose, and exited the room.

The King watched Skywalker leave the room calmly, and then raised his goblet in the air. "May you find what you seek, even if others try to obscure the truth." Then he finished his drink, rose, and meditated on the troubled, turbulent times which faced the galaxy, and the impenetrable mystery which was Sirius Black.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:19, Corellia._

Across the galaxy, in Treasure Ship Row of Coronet City, Corellia, a different sort of conversation was taking place.

"So do we have a deal?" asked Harry Potter, sitting in the back of a cantina in his full armor.

"Not yet," said the Rodian across from him. "What you ask for seems too much, given the uncertain nature of what you offer in return."

"You don't trust me?" Harry asked. A dangerous note entered his voice.

"Of course I do, Mortem!" said the alien. "But my clients, they don't know where I got these plans. They'll pay me less than they're worth."

"That's your problem, not mine, Rulta. These are plans that have never been mapped before. These show sections of the secure area of the Jedi Temple! Let me tell you that it was no easy task getting hold of these. If anything, I'm giving it to you for a low price. After all, there are at least twenty other places I could get the same information from you. How about you give me a thousand credits on top of what I already offered?"

"You ask too much!"

"No, I think I'm giving you a fair deal. And if you don't feel the same way -" He rose, and smiled when the Rodian gestured at him to stay.

"We have a deal," said the Rodian across from him. The green alien took a sip from the cup in front of him and smacked his lips nervously. Then, he pulled out a credit chip - larger amounts of money were stored in a chip than a chit - and a holopad. "Location of the archival team extracting the Reformation Records, as requested. Secretive stuff - apparently on orders from certain elements of the Galactic Senate itself, though I couldn't trace that connection back too far without being caught. I had to desynchronize the automated caching system to even get hold of -"

Harry held up a hand. "I don't need a full explanation. And I thought you promised me a full data dump, not just the coordinates of this archival team."

Rulta paled. "I swear, I did try, but the security -"

Harry waved him off, and then took out a pad of his own. "Schematics of the Jedi Temple, including portions of the secured area. But because of your failure to uphold your end of the deal, all you get is a precise map of the interior of one of the holding cells."

The Rodian made to protest, but held himself back when he saw Mortem's posture. "I agree," he said reluctantly.

They swapped pads and chip simultaneously, and after stowing them away, shook hands. "A pleasure doing business with you, Rulta."

"And with you, Mortem."

As the armored bounty hunter walked out of the cantina, he glanced down at the coordinates. "Chandrila," he muttered. "Interesting."

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:19, Kamino._

Obi-Wan Kenobi ground his teeth in frustration as Jango Fett answered his questions with ease. Almost a practiced ease.

His questions so far had all been expected, it seemed. Time for something new.

"What do you know of the bounty hunter Mortem?"

A lip curled slightly in distaste, and Obi-Wan knew that this would be a productive line of questioning.

"I've heard the name, but never met the man personally. Why do you ask?"

"Because two days ago, he was encountered in Coruscant under -" He hesitated before formulating his next statement. "- circumstances related to the Galactic Senator from Naboo, Padmé Amidala."

Fett paused, and Obi-Wan knew that he'd surprised the man.

"Interesting. I didn't think it his style, personally. Assassination never seemed his thing."

Obi-Wan considered his next words very carefully. "I don't think I ever mentioned anything about an assassination."

He felt the blaster bolt coming before it did. He unsheathed his lightsaber to block it. He reflected a few shots from Fett before saying, "Under the authority of the Jedi Order, I place you under arrest."

"I don't think I ever mentioned surrendering to a Jedi."

With that, Fett turned, shot the window, shattering it into millions of pieces, and barreled off the edge.

"What is it with this investigation and people jumping off ledges?" muttered Kenobi.

He walked over to the edge and watched as Jango Fett ascended a grappling hook to a landing pad holding a menacing ship. Then Kenobi turned and began to run, noticing the absence of Fett's son.

"Blast!"

~penumbral~

By the time Obi-Wan reached the landing pad, Fett was in his suit, his son by his side. "See you later," said the man, ushering his kid inside the ship.

Obi-Wan simply jumped at the man, lightsaber swinging, but the ship's door closed just in time. He pushed the lightsaber into the ship's exterior, trying to force open the door, but it didn't melt the hardened exterior quickly enough.

As the ship's engine rumbled, Obi-Wan took out a tracking device and planted it firmly on the ship's hull, before standing back and watching it rise and disappear into the stormy sky.

"I wonder if Anakin's done any better," he thought aloud, before returning to his starship.

~penumbral~

Anakin stared down at the massive heaps of ship wreckage and debris, all accumulated in the span of days nearly four thousand years prior. In the final - or apparently the second to last - conflict of the Mandalorian Wars, the valiant forces of the Republic met the Mandalorian Crusade in space and dueled to a standstill as the unstoppable tactical prowess of Mandalore the Ultimate met the immovable military genius of the Jedi's greatest leaders. This was before the reformation of the Republic, back when the Jedi still took roles as generals and elite warriors to defend the Republic. As far as Anakin could tell, such a time was upon them again.

The Confederacy would not just give up, he knew. And though the other Jedi had often reprimanded him as too hasty in his conclusions or too oriented towards violence when he brought up his conclusions about the future of the Republic, he knew that a showdown was just around the corner - and it wouldn't be a civilized debate in a public forum. He'd seen enough evil, hate, and crime in the galaxy to believe that - and the Sith seemed to be moving again, as they had ten years ago when the Trade Federation blockaded Naboo. The motives behind that incident had remained a mystery, but Anakin now firmly believed it was to amplify originally political conflicts into something more, and to create the underpinnings of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

He glanced down at the data logs, which showed which portions of the site Black had frequented. It seemed that the man had lingered the longest over the portion directly ahead, where Anakin had asked to be dropped off. He had requested to come here immediately after the dinner, feeling that time-sensitive events were coming to a head. After being given a warning about chemical leakage and the unsafety of Old Republic industrial creations, the craft which had brought him here departed.

He looked down at the piles upon piles of rubble, and jumped in. The heap creaked and groaned under his added weight, and he lightly leapt to a more stable object, the decaying hull of a ravaged ship. Then he continued on his path, carving a precarious path through the ancient ruins.

Finally, he arrived on the top of a massive ship, and entered it through a gaping hole. As far as he could tell, it was the flagship of the Mandalorians - and the inside still seemed partially functional. The lighting system was online, despite spending the last four thousand years in a junkyard.

Anakin smiled; finally, he was on to something. He quickly walked through the ship, forcing his way through obstructed doors and carving out walls with his lightsaber, until he reached the ship's bridge.

Some of the systems were damaged beyond repair, but a surprising amount were still functional, and more importantly, were turned on.

The Force murmured quietly in content as he approached the ship's mainframe. His mechanical skills were superb, and he was confident that he could exploit the ancient systems and slice them.

Except for one thing, he realized when he reached the dead computer. The computer mainframe's core was missing.

~penumbral~

A beeping sound interrupted Harry as he exited the cantina. He found a quiet alley and opened the communicator. "Dooku."

"Black."

"You've finally gotten around to depositing my money, I assume?" asked Harry.

"You have been paid in full. And if you are willing, I have a new posting for you."

"Yes?"

"Jango Fett found something most concerning during his time on the Outer Rim planet Kamino. Have you heard of the place?"

Harry recalled Kenobi telling him about a Kaminoan bounty hunter, and remembered connecting the dots to tie the man's identity to Jango Fett. Not that he had told the Jedi, and he didn't intend to tell Dooku, either. "Not off the top of my head."

"Of course not. But it seems the Republic is preparing for war. On Kamino they have stashed a clone army, seemingly created on command of the late Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "And I don't suppose you know anything about his death, do you?"

The Count laughed. "Why, Sirius, I was friends with Master Sifo-Dyas when he was killed. This was right around when I left the Jedi Order, and around the time of the Naboo incident as well. A little after, if I recall correctly."

Either way, Harry wasn't concerned about war. He knew all about the darker side of supposedly moral conflicts, the war profiteering and rackets which sprung up in the wake of large-scale conflict. He would soon have multiple bounties to pursue, and with them, more options.

"You want me to pick a side," stated Harry.

"No, my friend, only take a temporary posting. I suspect that the Jedi and their saboteurs may attempt to destroy valuable Confederacy assets as the war begins. I would rather they remain protected."

"How much?"

"I think a thousand credits per day should be sufficient. It is a low-risk posting, but one which I want covered regardless."

"I agree with your price. But this time, it's not about the money, Dooku. I don't want to be associated with either side of the coming war, and there's no way this job won't paint me as a Confederacy man through and through."

"Not as if attacking a Galactic Senator would do the same," said Dooku.

Harry bristled. "I needed the money, and, as you can see, I got away with it. But right now, there's nothing you can offer me. I've got my own business to conduct."

"Very well."

Harry Potter closed the connection and set off. He had a planet to visit and some archives to rob.

~penumbral~

 **A/N: Harry beat Anakin once; that doesn't make Anakin incompetent. I hope that all my major characters are competent, and if you feel the opposite is true, feel free to contact me and tell me otherwise.**

 **PS: If you want to see my theory of bounty hunter pricing, visit my profile. I'll try to follow that as best as possible in this fic - and you're probably wondering why Harry hasn't gotten ridiculously rich fast.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Adumbral:_ dark, shady; alternatively, of or pertaining to _adumbrations_ , the indistinct outlines of a figure or the vague foreshadowings of a hidden secret.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:19, Pelior._

Anakin paced up and down the bridge of the defunct ship. The computer mainframe undoubtedly held what he was looking for - its casing showed signs of recent removal, which meant it had to have been Mortem. The man was intelligent, but Anakin knew that everything left a trace. He just had to find it.

He closed his eyes and brushed the Force, but no new insights came to him, just that this room was significant in his understanding of Sirius Black.

He looked up at the ceiling, wringing his head in frustration, then looked back down to the floor. Then he glanced up again, narrowing his eyes at the blinking red light of the active security camera.

Of course.

He pulled up a chair and began accessing the security systems on the ship. After a few taps to a blue screen, it filled with static and then displayed a pale, blinking dialog box with multiple options.

 _Ship status._

 _Weapons systems._

 _Hangar capacity._

 _Security logs._

He clicked on the last one, holding his breath.

 _Enter authorization code to continue._

He slammed his hands down in frustration. Then he noticed that the password was already entered, automatically filled by the program.

Laughing in relief, he entered the security logs, thanking the Force that some security officer four thousand years ago had been too lazy to type in authorization codes every time.

The logs from four thousand years ago were all corrupted, but that was not what he was looking for. Instead, since over a year ago the security system had been reactivated, no doubt by Mortem as he took the ship's computer mainframe. Anakin opened the files corresponding to that time period and began to watch.

 _Mandalorian Frigate_ Indomitable

 _Accessing security logs._

 _Internal camera system: bridge._

 _Adjusting hologram resolution capacity..._

 _GrS 11:8:3, Pelior._

Mortem, dressed in civilian garb, stood hunched over the computer mainframe, searching through files upon files, though for what, Anakin did not know. The man held a blaster in one hand and a thin object Anakin couldn't identify in the other.

Finally, he hit upon something and his eyes lit up, shoulders straightening in excitement - and a security screen popped up, asking for credentials. Unlike the security terminal, this one did not have an autofilled password.

Black was unfazed. He drew a small, nondescript object from a pocket and turned it in his hands. "Bridge Commander Cassus Fett," he pronounced.

Anakin watched with bated breath, but nothing happened.

Mortem asked, "What is the password?" and after a moment's pause, he entered a long string into the security system. To Anakin's surprise, it worked.

His mind raced furiously. No doubt Mortem's object was in fact a communicator to someone who was competent and very much able to slice into advanced, even military-grade security systems. Granted, this one was four thousand years old, but it was the Mandalorians, back when they were feared and when their technology was nearly flawless in all regards.

Or perhaps, even worse, the object was a Universal Slicer. The possibility had been considered by many technological experts before being dismissed as impossible. Anakin knew because he had been forced to attend numerous meetings between the Jedi Order and experts on whether the possibility constituted a security risk to the Republic. Of course, as with all committee meetings, nothing ultimately got done except everyone agreeing that there was no risk. But perhaps they were wrong. Such an object would enable its holder to hack any security system and steal any amount of money they wanted. It would be catastrophic to society as they knew it.

The file that Mortem had opened expanded into a full-sized hologram, displaying a man holding aloft a brilliant violet lightsaber and wearing a blood red mask. Words displayed below it, detailing the man's identity.

 _Commander Revan. (True name unknown.)_

 _Former Jedi Knight._

 _Most dangerous ally of the Republic._

 _Tactical and strategic genius._

 _Conversion? Low probability._

 _Loyalty: The Revanchists. Dislikes Jedi, Republic, and Mandalorians._

 _Motivations: unknown._

Anakin leaned back and drew in a breath as he watched Mortem close the computer mainframe and pry it out of its container. And unbeknownst to him, uncaptured by the security cameras due to their sheer inability to record the supernatural, a lone Mandalorian spirit faded away into the void, released from the call of the Resurrection Stone.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:21, Geonosis._

Obi-Wan could do nothing but berate himself in frustration at being caught, as he floated in Dooku's specially designed cell. But at least he had managed to get off a message to Anakin before he was captured by droidekas. The Order now knew, or at least suspected, that Count Dooku had fallen to the dark side and was with the Sith.

Speaking of the devil - the Count entered the room again.

"My dear friend Obi-Wan," he said. "How unfortunate for us to meet under such circumstances as these."

"I know you're with the Sith, Dooku. You do not need to humor me."

Dooku began to circle Obi-Wan, taking small steps around the man.

"The situation is more complex than you would think. I thought you, of all people, would understand this, entangled as you were in the Separatist plot ten years ago. For it is the Naboo incident to which everything connects."

"Not Mortem."

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd get around to asking me about him. I'm afraid I cannot say much of him except confirm that I did hire him to attack Senator Amidala and that he is a brilliant tactician. I confess, I do not know him well enough to tell you more. He is a highly independent man, and one whose talents I saw and put to good use. Alas, he is not my man."

"He's a mercenary."

"He is, I suppose, if you decide to phrase it so crudely. But more than that, I cannot say: it's clear to me he's searching for something, but only the Force knows what. I do not think you will have to worry about his interference in the short term."

Obi-Wan's brow curled in thought. "That's what you'd like me to think, but is not necessarily the truth of the matter."

"You think he is my apprentice."

"He is Force-sensitive."

That threw Dooku for a loop. He stopped circling Obi-Wan, and turned to face him. "He is? Most interesting... but no, he is not apprenticed to me. His loyalty cannot be bought and sold - only his talents. But I have not brought you here to talk about Mortem."

"Then?" Obi-Wan quirked an eyebrow.

"The Republic is faltering. Each day that draws past this truth becomes more and more self-evident. Even as systems defect and join the Confederacy, the Senate continues to deny the truth that it no longer represents the people. It is corrupt."

"It is only falling apart because of you, Dooku!"

"No, I simply exposed its failures, and showed everyone what it truly was. It is a deadly beast built upon wealth and lavishness for the rich, miserable slavery for the poor, and arbitrary power for the Jedi. The Confederacy is merely a combination of bodies who wish to change that - several systems, the Trade Federation, and the Techno Union, to name a few."

"The Techno Union has joined you?" That bit of information was concerning. Wat Tambor's group, though not the largest conglomeration in the galaxy by far, held technology and mechanical expertise that gave a large advantage to the Confederacy.

"They were one of the first, in fact, and surely will not be the last."

"But why tell me all this?"

"I suspect soon will be a time when such secrets will be revealed, to be replaced by larger, more important ones. I simply wished to converse with an old acquaintance before he became my enemy. And possibly, to give you an offer."

"An offer."

Dooku ignited his lightsaber, a glowing crimson blade which shined brighter than the lights of the cell controls. "You know what this is."

Obi-Wan drew in a breath.

"You know what it represents."

"So you have fallen. The Jedi Council was right."

"You do not understand, Obi-Wan. The Sith Lord is more powerful than you could possibly imagine. I chose to ally myself to him willingly, because I believe that the change he will provide will be far more beneficial than stagnation."

"You betrayed the Jedi Order and all it has stood for."

"Not without reason. But even I recognize that Darth Sidious - yes, that is his name - is dangerous. I cannot defeat him alone, but with a Jedi Master like you at my side, it would be possible. Another one dedicated to the same cause that I am, one who understands the importance of this age."

"I will not join you. I do not believe your lies."

"I have been telling you nothing but the truth." Dooku looked up suddenly, gazing at the wall. "War is coming. Can you feel it? Even now the Galactic Senate is voting - voting whether to use your clone army to wipe out the Separatists. The droids are merely for our self-defense, but it seems the Republic cannot tolerate any organization as powerful as itself. It will be a close vote, it seems, unless we force their hand."

Dooku turned around as he made to exit the room. "I am sorry, Obi-Wan, that it had to come to this. But you are too stubborn, and unwilling to see the truth."

He walked out the door, and met with a Geonosian. "He will be executed," declared Dooku, and Poggle the Lesser nodded in affirmation.

The door slammed closed, and Obi-Wan Kenobi was doused in a silence broken only by the slight humming of his cell.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:19, Pelior._

Anakin explained what he had learned to Mace Windu en route out of the Pelior system.

"This is unexpected," said the Jedi Master, voice crackling as the connection weakened slightly. "But it matches with some of what we know - or suspect - about the man. Shrack Tunce, the antiques dealer. Force sensitive - though not a Jedi by any means. He could be seeking out artifacts and historical records of value."

"To what end, though, Master?"

Mace Windu's face indicated that he had one or two suspicions, but wasn't willing to share with Anakin. "I don't know."

"He was looking for ancient information - about an ancient Jedi. Why? Do the Jedi Archives contain this Revan?"

"Yes. But access is restricted to members of the Council."

"Where do you want me to go, then, Master Windu?"

"I doubt you will find more on the trail of Mortem just now. For now, I'll contact our friends in the Senate so that Pelior is brought into the Republic. We cannot afford any system to join the Confederacy, especially one with a history associated with Black. You will return to Coruscant to provide evidence that Pelior is fit for entry into the Republic.

"By the way, Anakin, Obi-Wan has contacted us with key information about the recent attacks on Senator Amidala. He traced the initial attack back to one Jango Fett, whom he found on Kamino after also discovering a clone army in the same location."

"A what?"

"Yes," said Windu grimly. "An entire army of cloned humans. Based off of none other than Jango Fett himself."

"Is it for the Confederacy?" asked Anakin.

"No. This army was apparently commissioned for us by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas before he died."

"But why?"

Windu nodded. "Obi-Wan is tracking Jango Fett's whereabouts as we speak. Hopefully he can provide us with some answers. But first, you need to come back and secure Pelior's admittance into the Republic. And then, we might want to have a chat with your friend, the Supreme Chancellor, about our concerns for the future.

"These clones turned up at a very suspicious time, Anakin. It's almost as if someone wants us to use them - but why? Why give the Republic possibly the largest and best-trained army in existence? Something's wrong here, and I sense a major change on the horizon."

"As do I, Master Windu."

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:21, Coruscant._

Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu watched as the Senate voted on whether to let Pelior enter - after being addressed by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine as to the consequences of rejecting them, and after being briefed by Windu about the actions of their temporary ambassador. If added, they would join one of the one thousand twenty four voting sectors and major worlds that were represented in the Galactic Senate.

"The votes have been tallied," announced Mas Amedda. "And Pelior has been rejected from the Galactic Senate, for the grievous actions of its ambassador."

The representative from Pelior - they had sent a different man than Sirius Black this time, thankfully - threw up his hands in disgust and walked out of the building.

"And now, on to the vote for the mobilization of the Republic's military and the use of the clone army, in order to counter the Confederacy's dangerously illegal creation of a droid army under our noses, and despite their assurances to the contrary."

This, decided Anakin as the votes were tallied silently at the central podium, would pass. Just then, a beeping interrupted his thoughts and Mace Windu checked his holocomm.

"Bad news," said the Jedi Master. "The Confederacy's announced that they're going to execute Obi-Wan."

"How soon?"

Mace Windu's face told him immediately that it would be too soon for the clone army to save him.

"Where?"

"Anakin - we can't have you running off in a vain attempt to rescue Obi-Wan."

"We can't just sit here waiting for him to die!"

"No. We gather reinforcements."

"The votes have been tallied!" declared Mas Amedda. "The motion does not pass by a margin of one percent. Should there be any calls for a recount or new vote, we will admit them now. Otherwise, the motion will be dismissed."

Mace Windu stood up and tapped three buttons in front of them. "The representative from the Jedi, honorable Master Mace Windu, wishes to address the Senate," said Amedda.

Anakin and Mace rose as their repulsorpod ascended towards the center of the chamber.

"Members of the Galactic Senate," began Windu. "The situation with the Confederacy is more dire than you may believe. Ten years ago, as you all well know, a similar droid army, owned by the Trade Federation, invaded and laid waste to the planet of Naboo."

The delegation from the Trade Federation made to interrupt, but Windu continued without acknowledging them.

"Now, barely half an hour ago, the Confederation has announced that they will execute the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, to whom many of you owe a great debt, during the next standard day. If this is not sufficient impetus to call the Republic to declare war, then so be it. At the very least, allow us to authorize a rescue mission with a detachment from the clone army so that a great ambassador of the Republic will not die an ignoble death." Mace Windu glared at the crowd, daring them to object.

"I ask you a single question, Senators: will you stand back and allow corrupting forces to whittle away at the power of the Republic? Let your heritage, the tradition of a thousand years, and tens of thousands before that, waste away within the freezing gales of apathy? Or will you allow us to extend this Golden Age for a thousand years more, so that your sons and sons of sons and your posterity look upon you with pride, not hatred or disappointment?"

"We will vote again," said Mas Amedda. Five minutes later, he declared, "And the Republic will, for the first time in a thousand years, remobilize its military, and bring the full force of the clone army to bear on the Confederacy."

A rousing applause broke out in the Senate chamber. Mace Windu stood grim in the center, considering the magnitude of the beast he had unleashed. But it was for the best; Obi-Wan Kenobi was one of their best Jedi Masters, a rising star, and his death - especially due to the inaction of the Senate - would negatively impact the Chosen One. He could not allow that to happen. Anakin had to succeed in bringing balance to the Force again.

"Mobilization will happen quickly when they hear the news," said Anakin, "but not quick enough. We have to do something."

"And we will," said Mace. "Come with me to the Temple. There is a team of Jedi we need to assemble."

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:21, Geonosis._

Dooku watched as his informant revealed the results of the vote to him.

It was exactly as planned. Now, he would bring the clone army to the sands of Geonosis by setting up Obi-Wan's execution.

And now that the conflict was about to start, and the cogs of war could not be halted by any means, it was time to wake up the Naboo Senator and show her what had happened to her precious Republic.

Count Dooku opened up a communicator and dialed in the holocomm identification code of one Sirius Black.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:22, Geonosis._

Obi-Wan gazed at the light blue Geonosian sky, tinged with a slight hint of red. The beautiful sight, though, offered him no respite from the jeering crowds or the dry, hot air around him. Chained to a post in the center of a large arena, he had nowhere to escape and nobody to turn to.

He wasn't Mortem, who could break from his prison cell with barely any effort. Obi-Wan still wondered how the man did it, but accepted that it was a truth he would never learn.

He wasn't Master Qui-Gon, serene and in tune with the Living Force.

He was just Obi-Wan Kenobi. Jedi Master, but that didn't improve his chances of getting out of this mess.

After an announcement by Count Dooku, the iron gate in front of him raised, revealing a tall acklay. The beast had six spined legs and three eyes, and let out a shrill screech at the sight of Obi-Wan.

Things were about to get interesting, and Obi-Wan Kenobi would be damned if he went down without a fight.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:21, Chandrila._

Windswept greens and fertile browns graced the planet of Chandrila, but scenery wasn't what Harry was looking for. If it was, he would've searched up pictures on the HoloNet. Neither was its strong tradition of democracy the reason he chose to visit.

Blaster shots raced past Harry as he attempted to enter the dig site where the archives he needed to access were located. He was in the middle of a large facility. Somewhere, deep inside was the entry point to the old archives.

"This is not the time," said Harry as he opened the Count's call. "What do you want?"

"I need the Senator awakened."

"How soon are you talking?" asked Harry as he jumped to the side to avoid another blast from the guard droids. There were at least fifty large droids, all primed to kill. That was most unusual for an archeological group.

"From the sound of your predicament," noted the Count drily, "any time within the next three years would be nice."

Harry fired off a flurry of shots, destroying two droids which had attempted to sneak up behind him.

"Yeah, I'm a bit busy. And besides, there's a fee attached."

The Count sighed. "There always is, isn't there, Mortem?"

"You wanted something irreversible, and now you expect it reversed. That's a hefty fee. Half the cost of the original job - five thousand credits." It would be the easiest money Harry had ever earned. All he had to do was enter the hospital and administer the Wiggenweld Potion.

"Agreed, but only if you do it within the day."

"I'm not exactly on that sort of time schedule," said Harry, crouching below cover and deciding on his next course of action. "Give me three."

"Two thousand credits, then. Time is money."

"I don't think this job can be all that time-sensitive. But four and a half, because you seem so concerned."

"Two and a half. It cannot be that hard to administer an antidote."

"Still four and a half. It took me years scouring the galaxy searching for something this obscure and irreversible. All the Jedi healing and advanced medical treatment they gave her hasn't done a thing, Dooku. That requires effort, and the cure isn't exactly an easy thing to devise. Otherwise Amidala would be cured by now."

"Three and a half thousand, then," said Dooku.

"Let's just split the difference, Dooku, and get over it. Four thousand credits."

"Deal," said the Count. "But it must be done quickly," he added, closing the connection.

Harry smiled. He already had the antidote on hand; he'd played Dooku for a sucker. He had more important things to worry about than haggling, though, so he refocused on the task at hand.

The conventional approach wasn't helping any, so he decided to use some of his... special abilities. He had already mangled the camera system after Apparating inside the security room and destroying the entire thing. After that, he had decided to use conventional armaments in order to hone his skills.

Unfortunately, he had miscalculated just how many droids were guarding the facility. That was of no matter; he had magic.

He drew his wand with a flourish. " _Bombarda!_ " he cast and a cluster of droids went flying. Their armor was annihilated by his spell, but miraculously, one of them was still functioning. A small swipe of his wand tore apart its damaged metal chassis.

" _Incendio._ " The hallway behind him lit up in flame as electrical wires burnt up due to his spell. Droids burst through the doorway behind him, firing rapidly, but they couldn't make it through the obstruction and by the time the fire died down, the wizard was long gone.

Harry barrelled through the hallways of the facility, destroying droids with wide sweeps of his wand whenever they got close. Finally, he burst through a door and entered a room surrounding a large dirt pit. Below, he could see the flicker of electric lighting.

He jumped, slowing his fall with a flick of his wand, and landed softly at the bottom.

~penumbral~

Obi-Wan watched as the acklay walked steadily closer. Its three eyes focused on him, testing him. The beast made a feint towards him and drew back, and the crowd jeered.

But Obi-Wan didn't flinch.

Then the acklay threw itself at him, and he jumped high, avoiding its attack, and landed on its back.

The crowd roared in delight at the spectacle, and Obi-Wan did not disappoint. Wrapping the chain tightly around the beast's neck, he pulled and twisted.

But the acklay's neck proved too firm for him to snap with his hands alone, and it bucked violently, trying to dislodge him. Obi-Wan held on, grimacing as the chain strained his hands and the post to which it was attached.

Finally, with a sudden twist, the acklay tore the chain from the post and sent Obi-Wan flying at the sudden lack of firm resistance. He landed roughly on the ground, and blearily watched the acklay stalk up and raise its legs over him.

He rolled to the side as it thrust its legs down, embedding them in the ground. Again and again the acklay tried to stab him, but, using his preternatural ability to sense when and where it would attack, Obi-Wan avoided its clumsy attempts without difficulty.

Then, as it drew back for another strike, he jumped up, wielding his chains, and knotted them around the acklay's neck; as it shrieked and tried to attack once more, he fell back down on the other side, pulling the chain taut and cleanly snapping the beast's neck in half.

He landed in a crouch, and for a moment the entire arena was silent, the crowd seeming to hold its collective breath.

The acklay gave one last shudder and keeled over to the ground, dead.

~penumbral~

 **A/N: Something that might confuse you is that not all these scenes are in chronological order, though they happen very close to each other. As far as I know, they are arranged in a way that is not ambiguous, but if there is any confusion, look at the dates. And if the dates seem wrong, contact me by PM or leave a review.**

 **Also, Obi-Wan is a badass.**


	5. Chapter 5

_Umbrage:_ annoyed anger; archaically, the shadow cast by arboreal objects.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:22, Geonosis._

Obi-Wan rose slowly from the ground as the crowd roared. Never before had they seen such a clean execution - of the beast, rather than the man up for execution.

The Geonosians began to shout "Chok na! Chok na!" and Obi-Wan grimaced as he understood what it meant.

Another gate opened, and two more beasts charged into the arena - a bright red reek, with curved horns the size of human arms, and a growling nexu with claws sharper than its teeth.

"This'll be fun," said the Jedi Master, not at all looking forward to the fight ahead.

The reek snorted and pawed at the ground, then charged. Obi-Wan jumped to the side like a matador, and assessed the situation as the reek shuddered to a halt on the other side of the arena. The nexu paced slowly forward, as if stalking him.

Obi-Wan watched the Geonosian picadors prod the reek with electric lances and redirect it, before deciding on a plan of action. As the reek charged back towards him, though, the nexu pounced, and he began to grapple with the beast, writhing on the arena floor.

The razor-sharp claws swiped past his neck more than a couple of times before he Force-pushed it off.

That was when the reek reached them, and, too late, he tried to jump out of its path.

He only partially succeeded, and the raging animal trampled his legs, breaking a bone, before skidding and turning around. The nexu flipped back onto its front and growled threateningly.

The reek charged again, but this time Obi-Wan held his ground, throwing out a hand and summoning an electric lance from one of the picador's hands.

He thrust it forward and held steady with the Force just as the reek threw its entire body weight forward.

It impaled itself and slid on the lance towards Obi-Wan, who realized too late his mistake. As the heavy beast's momentum pushed it down the lance shaft, Obi-Wan dropped the lance and jumped to the side, where the nexu pounced.

This time, without the reek to distract him, he got the better of it and forced it to the ground, before knocking it out with a well-timed blow.

"What more, Dooku? Will you continue to make a spectacle of me?" he called, shaking his still cuffed hands in the air.

"No," came a calm and authoritative voice from Dooku's podium.

"He won't," said Mace Windu, as countless Jedi lit up their lightsabers all around the stadium.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:21, Chandrila._

Harry looked around, assessing the situation. Two tunnels, lit by bright fluorescent lighting, led off in opposing directions. He chose one at random and followed it as it sloped downwards.

The end of the tunnel showed more and more signs of decay, until he reached a large, durasteel blast door. Jabbing the button to open it did not work, and from the looks of the scoring damage all over the door, it was quite a solid barrier.

Five Blasting Curses barely made a dent. He changed strategies and pushed the tip of his wand as deep as possible into the slight crevice the curses had created. " _Incendio._ "

A delicate orange flame danced at the tip of his wand, lapping at the solid metal, which showed no signs of damage. He poured more magic into the spell, and the flame grew hotter and brighter, forcing Harry to shield his eyes due to its intensity.

The metal grew soft and liquid, and he punched a hole through the blast door with a Reductor Curse. After surveying the room inside, noting its distinctive features, he twisted on the spot and Apparated inside - he needed a clear picture and idea of location in order to Apparate.

The inside was a cavernous room, but was strangely devoid of many objects.

A dozen computers sat in the corner, covered in thick dust, and a massive cylindrical databank stretched upwards to the ceiling. It flickered with blue lights up and down the column, tracing out mechanical patterns in its glow. In the center of the room was a raised dais which held a large, flickering screen. He walked up and tapped it gently.

Characters streamed down its sides as the ancient computer began to process. Half a minute later, he had navigated to a screen asking him to confirm his download.

He pressed a button to confirm, and waited as all of the data compressed and downloaded onto a stack of his holopads; since the databank was massive, he had chosen as many relevant topics as possible - thousand year old data related to the Reformation of the Republic, and all of the archive's older topics as opposed to files dating only five centuries back.

The download was nearly complete when a veritable legion of guard droids streamed into the room from all sides, raising their weapons and targeting him.

 _Ninety one percent._

He had to defend the central console as well as his holopads while the download completed. Unfortunately, this meant he couldn't go on the offensive.

A simple shield rose around him as he twirled his wand about. A few seconds later, a flurry bright red blaster bolts splashed against the shield harmlessly as the guard droids fired their repeating blasters.

 _Ninety five percent._

Harry steeled himself as a group of the droids drew out rocket launchers and fired. The rockets exploded in fiery conflagrations along the border of his shield, reacting in the presence of the active magics he poured into them. The resulting explosions obscured his vision with dancing red flames.

 _Ninety nine percent._

His shield weakened - but only a little - under the constant assault of blaster bolts. He would be able to easily hold the droids off until the download was complete.

 _Ninety nine percent._

For some reason, the download was progressing much slower than it had for the rest of the time. More rockets impacted his shield, to the point where his vision was constantly obscured by fire and smoke.

 _Validating download… Cross-checking package error codes..._

Luckily, none of the guard droids had physical weapons, which would easily pass through his shield, designed as it was for blocking energy-based attacks. He had been lucky with the rockets, which were volatile enough to explode upon contacting heavy magic.

 _Download complete._

He grabbed the holopads with his non-wand hand and Apparated back to the surface, barely glancing at the bright blue sky as he mounted a speeder and headed back towards civilization. All the while he pondered why the guard droids had been so heavily armed and so numerous for an obscure, recently-unearthed old archive - one that he was interested in, granted, but one that was unlikely to be of interest to most people other than galactic historians.

~penumbral~

"Count Dooku, you are under arrest for the crime of detaining and attempting to execute a member of the Jedi Order, for the authorization of an illegal droid army as part of the rebel organization, the Confederacy, and for conspiracy against the Senate of the Galactic Republic."

Mace Windu held an ignited lightsaber at Dooku's throat.

The Count chuckled. "And I suppose you believe I will simply enter Jedi custody?"

At the same moment, Jango Fett turned and fired a flamethrower at the Jedi Master, forcing him out of the way, but then he was tackled by Anakin, who lit his lightsaber before the bounty hunter began to grapple with him.

Below, the Geonosian spectators all began to fly away and flee, as the iron gates in the arena opened once more.

This time, out marched hundreds of battle droids.

The countless Jedi jumped down to the arena floor to protect Obi-Wan, and one of them tossed him a lightsaber.

"Go, Jango." The bounty hunter jumped away from Anakin and off the ledge, igniting his jetpack as he flew to attack the Jedi below.

In the havoc, Count Dooku managed to ignite his lightsaber. Master Windu's expression darkened at the sight of the red blade. "So the rumors were true," said Windu. "And I don't suppose that Black is your apprentice?"

Dooku laughed at that. "You are foolish, Mace. I expected better from a talented Jedi such as yourself. No, I am merely the apprentice. My master is far more powerful than all of us here combined."

"We shall see," said Windu grimly. Then, he and Anakin attacked simultaneously.

The Count blocked and parried with practiced ease, warding off the two simultaneously for a minute. Then, during a slight lull, he attacked.

Anakin fought desperately to keep up his guard as the Count pressed on him first, evidently attempting to eliminate the weaker of the two before focusing on the Jedi Master.

Windu leapt to his defense, pushing the Count back with the Force. Then, the Count raised his hand and threw an arc of lightning from his hand, surprising the two.

Windu caught it on his blade, but Anakin was not so lucky. He was blasted back and fell off the ledge, his robes smoking from the burns.

"He is powerful, but inexperienced," remarked the Count.

Windu narrowed his eyes. "You will not get away with this, Dooku."

"I think I will," said the Count as he dropped the stream of lightning. "After all, though your Jedi below are doing an admirable job of defending, I have simply too many battle droids for them to last forever. Even now, they fall."

Mace Windu felt, before he heard, the rocket shooting his way. He jumped off the dais as Jango Fett lowered his rocket launcher and aimed at the falling Jedi.

The Count tutted in disapproval. "Your time is over, Master Windu. It is time for the Sith to restore the glory of the Republic."

~penumbral~

Obi-Wan could tell instantly that he was Jango Fett's target. Trusting his Force-assisted instincts to protect him from crossfire from the battle droids, he turned to face the bounty hunter. He eyed the suit before jumping towards the man, lightsaber carving out an arc in the air.

Fett raised his arm steadily and shot a cable out at the Jedi Master. It wrapped around Kenobi's legs, and as it unbalanced the Jedi, Fett blasted him with a flamethrower.

Obi-Wan dropped to the ground, cutting off the cable in the process, and rolled out of the way of the flames - and towards Fett. With one, clean sweep, he brought his blade up to cut the bounty hunter in half. But his adversary was fast, launching into the air with his jetpack and shooting a volley of shots at Obi-Wan.

Deflecting the shots to the side and into a battle droid which was trying to shoot at him, Obi-Wan steadily made his way towards where Fett floated in the air.

In one concerted motion, Fett dropped out of the air, dropping to a crouch and firing a dart. Kenobi swiped it out of the air with a clean flick of his lightsaber, frying it.

But as he defended himself, Jango Fett fired a rocket, point-blank. There was barely enough time to jump out of the way - the rocket impacted the ground next to him, sending him flying. As he picked himself back up, he watched Fett aim for the raised platform where Mace Windu and Dooku still fought. Then Fett fired.

~penumbral~

Mace Windu hit the ground right in the middle of a group of droids, which he promptly destroyed, forcing two out of the way and slicing another three in half. Then he turned towards Fett and charged.

By the time he reached, Obi-Wan and Fett were already engaged in another bout; upon the entrance of Mace, Fett activated his jetpack and flew up into the sky. Obi-Wan and Windu watched as he left the arena.

"I guess we'll have to deal with him later," said Mace. "We need to get our Jedi out of here first."

But as Obi-Wan tallied up the wounded, he realized that there was no way they could all reasonably evacuate without abandoning at least a quarter of the Jedi who had come here. "It's not possible," said Obi-Wan. "We have to stay and defend them."

"We don't know how long we'll have to wait," argued Mace. "We need to go now. The droids will never stop coming."

"It's not feasible."

Far above, the Count laughed and projected his voice over the arena. "You have lost, my dear friend Mace. Your Jedi are weakened, and cannot hold out for much longer. But accept my mercy, and I promise you will not be killed. Simply surrender to the Sith."

"We'll never surrender, Dooku!" shouted Mace Windu. Then, he pressed his finger to his ear, before breaking out into a grin.

"ETA three minutes," he said to Obi-Wan.

"What do you mean?"

Windu looked to the dusty skies. "The clones are here. The war has begun."

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:22, Coruscant._

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine sat in his office, hands steepled, as he contemplated recent events.

The war had finally begun - the work of not only ten but a thousand years, since the beginning of the Banite Sith Order. The Jedi would soon meet their end; even now, the Force hummed with the sound of countless Jedi's deaths on the opening stage of the Clone Wars. It was a massive coming-out party for both the Confederacy and the Republic, and neither sides disappointed. Slowly but surely, though, the Republic began to win - no doubt due to their command of the space around Geonosis and due to the valiant efforts of clone commandos to destroy the droid foundries deep within the planet's surface.

Now, the clones were mopping up the remainder of the Confederacy's droid army and Geonosian allies. Count Dooku had already left the system, making way for Coruscant to rendezvous with him.

And now, there was the mystery of Sirius Black to deal with.

He spun around in his chair, drawing up all the files the entire Republic, Confederacy, and Sith had on the man. Sidious had not been concerned by the precocious bounty hunter before, when he had performed odds and ends for Darth Tyranus. Nor had he been particularly surprised when the man had bested Anakin and incapacitated Senator Amidala - the young Jedi was prone to arrogance at times, and Mortem was tactically skilled, knowing, unlike most second-rate bounty hunters, when to strike and when to wait.

Mortem's interesting poison had raised an eyebrow, especially when he claimed to Count Dooku that it would knock out even a Jedi. Sidious dismissed these as boasts - and regardless, the average Jedi was weak enough that it did not matter. Besides, there were many exotic toxins to be found, if only one was willing to explore the Outer Rim for a sufficient amount of time. Or, failing that, Wild Space.

No. It was only now that Sidious began to consider the man as a potential player in the game which had just begun. He yet again drew up the video files from the Chandrilan guard droids - now classified -, and looked on speculatively, hand perched underneath his chin.

 _RX-class Guardian Droid DL120-463_

 _Accessing sensory logs._

 _External optical system: eyes._

 _Recomputing binocular merging algorithms..._

 _GrS 13:5:21, Chandrila._

The guard droid ran into the room as the blast doors opened. Then it took up position and kneeled on the floor, pointing its gun straight at the figure in the center of the room. Sidious clearly identified the face to be Mortem's.

Once the seventy-odd droids had taken position, they began to fire. Instantly, a domed shield appeared around the man and Sidious frowned. He had concluded that it was a powerful shielding device, generated by the fuzzy object in the man's grasp. Despite countless queries to the computer to display in higher resolution, the object refused to grow clear.

The shield barely wavered during the time Mortem was downloading the archive's files. Then, the most curious part of the entire holoclip appeared.

The shield vanished as Mortem disappeared. After half a second's pause, the guard droids stopped their fire and turned before leaving, the target lost.

It had to be a cloaking device. Mortem must've dropped down to the floor and waited for the droids to leave. It was a pity the RX-class guard droids had no thermal sensors to confirm just how advanced Mortem's shielding system was.

The Sith Lord collapsed the files with a tap and entered a long string of digits into his computer. He was impatient; he would not wait for Dooku to arrive for them to talk about the current state of affairs.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:23, Coruscant._

Harry Potter walked into the massive building with a frown as he observed the news, which were once again blaring about the recently declared war against the Confederacy. The now famous speech by Mace Windu played on repeat on numerous channels as pundits from liberal and conservative outlets alike urged citizens to contribute to the war effort.

Harry snorted. The glorification of patriotism would not last forever; eventually, once the toil of battle wore out even the staunchest of patriots, when the masses realized the devastation that the battles wrought on the planets of the Rim, then people would begin to be disillusioned. A time which would be perfect for demagogues and fear mongers to strike, which he supposed was the Sith's plan.

He had spent a day and a half poring over the files from the Reformation Records on Chandrila. The details of Tarsus Valorum - ancestor of Finis Valorum, the previous Supreme Chancellor - and his bold effort to scourge the failing system of decay and rot was certainly enlightening, but did not give him any information that he needed. The trail had been cold for months, now, until he had learned, by paying all sorts of shady contacts, that a new archeological site had been established where data archives were found regarding old history - the fading days of the Old Republic. It was a different trail than the one he had been following before, but all paths led back to what the sought.

Now, he had the information he needed, but it was hidden behind mounds upon mounds of useless data and corrupted files. He would find it, though. He always did.

The doors to the hospital slid open with a hiss, and he approached the front desk. Two receptionist droids greeted him. "What do you need today, sir?"

"Do you know which floor is for coma and stroke victims?" he asked casually.

"Floor five. May I ask whom you are visiting?" asked the droid, but he was already entering the lift. "Sir! I must insist! We cannot have you visit patients unattended!"

The elevator reached floor three when it came to a sudden halt. The intercom blared: "Return to the front desk to check in with the receptionists."

The lift reversed its direction and began to move downwards.

"Screw this," muttered Harry as he shot up the intercom, security system, and cameras with a blaster. Then he blew off the roof of the elevator with his holly wand.

He climbed up onto the roof of the lift as it hit the ground floor and decelerated. The doors slid open and a guard droid came in, then pointed a blaster at him through the hole. "Please come peacefully," droned the droid.

He shot its head off and alarms began to blare throughout the building.

" _Diffindo._ " The lift cable severed and wrapped around his waist with a flick of his wand. Another flourish; the winch turned and he rapidly ascended as pandemonium raged on the ground floor of the hospital. Security droids and uniformed personnel flooded the place as they searched for the intruder, and the security captain, a tall human, interrogated the receptionist droids. "Floor five!" he shouted to the rest of his men. He wracked his mind, attempting to understand what this mystery man wanted. Then he realized. "He's going for the Senator!"

Above, in the elevator shaft, he halted his upward progress just below the fifth floor, making Harry stop just higher than the doors. A well-placed shot with a blaster forced the doors open, and he jumped onto the fifth floor, letting the elevator fall below him.

A brief glance at the floor map showed him the location of the secured section of the hospital ward. As he stalked off towards the Senator's room, he felt a call on his holocomm.

"Don't tell me it's you, Dooku."

"It is."

"You keep on calling at precisely the wrong moment. I should change my holo-number, only to keep creeps like you away."

"I see you are fulfilling the bargain. I'll hold on the money transfer until you succeed."

"Did you call me just to say you aren't going to pay me yet?"

"No." The Count's voice grew serious. "I have another long-term job posting for you."

"Already told you I wasn't interested. Don't want to be too closely associated with the Confederacy and all that. Get Fett to do your dirty work."

"Of course. But this is a job that Fett cannot perform."

"Really? Take your initial offer and double it. I might consider it, then."

Harry turned two corners and noticed a reinforced door surrounded by an array of droids. No doubt it was where the Senator was being kept.

"It is a most delicate job. In fact, I am not sure you are capable enough to do it."

"Stop baiting me, Dooku, and get on with it."

"I want you to work for the Jedi."

"Really. And why would you want me to employ with your enemies? They're a stale and rigid order as it is - I might just help them with my brilliant grasp of military theory."

A sweep of his wand left the air whistling as a wave of purple literally sliced through. The curse, technically dark magic as per Ministry regulations, beheaded the six droids at once.

The Count coughed at Harry's self-praise. "Many reasons exist, but as an employer I have no obligation to give them."

"You want me to spy on them? Assassinate them?"

"No, Sirius, I assure you we have more than enough information on the Jedi Order. And if I desired their deaths, then a long-term job would be unnecessary."

Harry knelt down and examined at the fraying circuits of the droids. "Pitiful," he remarked. "They didn't even have strong armor."

"I will pay fifty thousand credits per month."

"If you ever want me to do anything else later, like kill them, then you'll have to pay me more," he warned Dooku. Then he jabbed the solid door with his wand, seeking out its internal weaknesses.

"The only parameters as of now are that you get close to the Order's heroes. Help them - for now."

"What if I accidentally destroy the Confederacy while 'helping' them?"

"I doubt such a thing will occur."

"You'd be surprised," remarked Harry flippantly. "I'll do it for no less than a hundred thousand a month, with a sum at the beginning of each standard week."

Harry upended the door with a flick, walking into the pristine hospital room.

"Deal," said the Count immediately, causing Harry to wonder just how high a price he could've named. "And -"

Harry hung up the call and walked carefully towards where the knocked-out Senator lay. Then he removed a syringe from inside his mokeskin pouch and jabbed it into her arm. The cure propagated through her body surprisingly quickly, and her eyes fluttered open with a gasp.

"What are you doing?" demanded a voice from behind him. Two lightsabers sprung out in unison, hissing a dangerous melody.

Harry turned slowly to Kenobi and Skywalker, holding his hands in the air, and gave a roguish grin. "Showing up to my job interview, of course. What else?"

~penumbral~


	6. Chapter 6

_Encumbrance:_ an obstruction or burden; legally, an interest in an asset.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:23, Coruscant._

Harry watched, hands still thrust into the air, gauging the men's reactions. He idly noticed a mechanical arm where Skywalker used to have a real one. The Count's work, no doubt.

"A what?" asked the Senator, who attempted to rise behind him.

"Job interview, meeting with future employers, arbitrary social convention rigged against the common man, epitome of middle-class Coruscanti credentialism - you name it. If you'd like, the Corellian Basic Dictionary defines 'job' to mean -"

"Shut up, Black. This is the man who attacked you, Padmé. He's armed and dangerous!"

"I don't know about that, seeing as I'm the one raising his hands in the air. Why, I was simply desperate to see the dear Senator revived and restored to the glory befitting of her office. I searched long and hard for a cure to her condition, and I assure you -"

"This man," said Obi-Wan, enunciating clearly and loudly over Harry's protests, "is the one responsible for your incapacitation, a bounty hunter known to the criminal underworld as Mortem. And yet, he came back and revived you."

"It's a plot! He must've -"

"It was all part of an elaborate scheme to rob the Confederacy of credits, milady," said Harry, inclining his head. "And to escape the clutches of Count Dooku."

"The clutches of his credit account, more like," said Anakin with a sarcastic laugh.

"So," announced Harry. "I don't have a finalized resumé to submit to you, but I do believe that I am one of the more skilled bounty hunters. I've been rising through the ranks since I joined, and I'm certainly the only man with the qualifications who also wants the job. I'll also give you a bargain on the pricing."

"There is no job," stated Obi-Wan. "The Republic would rather not consort with villainous figures to achieve its ends."

"Well then, it's good that you gave me a thorough background check last time we met. As far as I see it, I've never been indicted for a felony, so I'm clean. You two, on the other hand, are trying to obstruct me after healing a member of the Galactic Senate. I'm just an honest man making my way in the galaxy."

Anakin held his hand up to his ear and then nodded to the Jedi Master. "Give up, Black, we've surrounded the entire building. You won't be jumping off of ledges this time."

Harry gritted his teeth. He'd rather Apparate out and do away with the bunch. But the Jedi had things he needed, and for that, he'd have to brave out his interactions with them. "Give me a minute for me to convince you of my necessity to the Republic and the Jedi Order in particular, then. Everything I tell you about criminal dealings, of course, is completely hypothetical."

Obi-Wan gestured at him to continue.

"No good bounty hunter is willing to side with the Republic right now, but many are with the Confederacy. That's because if the Confederacy ever loses, they can come back claiming they were just taking contracts, didn't know, or whatever else and the Republic's bureaucracy won't take the effort to actually send them to jail - especially since they're more trouble than they're worth." The same thing had happened on Earth, just after Voldemort's first fall - by their final confrontation, though, Harry had made sure that there was no Death Eater left to dispose of. Knots were tied properly that time around.

"You lack contacts in the criminal underworld. They all want to see you lose, because a Confederacy means less governmental presence. And though the Confederacy has implemented anti-piracy measures, pirates generally hate both sides.

"You lack knowledge. I've dealt with the Confederacy - with the Count, but more importantly, with the people who directly answer to Dooku. I know how they think. I know their game, because I've played it. So give me a map of the galaxy, and give me some time, and I will show you how you will lose this war."

"That is a bold assertion, Mister..." said Padmé, arching her eyebrow.

"I go by Mortem, but apparently my name's an open secret around here. The name's Black, Sirius Black."

Kenobi made a shooing motion with his hand. "Nevertheless, here you go." The Jedi Master held out his hand, clutching a tiny device which blew up into a map of the galaxy. The Republic was highlighted in a deep red, the Confederacy in a light silver, and Hutt space in dark purple.

"Here -" He pointed to four sections of the galaxy, which lighted up with his gestures. "Lie the Confederacy's main holdings. As you can see, they are separated into two parts: the northern part is separated into two halves by mostly unexplored space, and the southern part is split only by a trifecta of influential planets in the Trailing Sectors - Naboo, Eriadu, Malastare. Without them, the Confederacy consolidates in the south. The Corellian Run and the Rimma Trade Route run straight to the Core from there. Up north, Confederacy forces will travel down the Perlemian and the Hydian Way, consolidating somewhere around -" He circled a small portion of the northern galaxy.

"Mandalore," said Anakin. "A planet with a long and bloody history." He watched Harry closely, looking for a reaction.

Harry remained steady. "So I've heard. If the Confederacy can get the dissident factions of Mandalore back on track to its warrior ways, then it's pretty much game over. Four thousand years ago, the Mandalorians alone nearly crushed the Republic."

"Until Revan stepped in," said Anakin loudly. Obi-Wan hissed in a breath.

Harry gazed intently into the young Jedi's eyes. "I see you have been to the Pelior system," said Harry after a moment. "A richly historic site, and one that should certainly fill you with fear of the potential of Mandalorians fighting alongside the Confederacy. And unless you have something more to say about the final, climactic battle between Mandalore and the Republic - led by none other than a mysterious figure with a shadowy past and ties to the Jedi Order -, then let me continue.

"But the Count knows that the Confederacy will win some and lose others. He cannot gamble on his designs for Mandalore being successful. So, he must face the last strategic disadvantage that he faces. Hutt Space."

"It's been interesting so far, but may you please begin to wrap this discussion up? Our men are pressing us to hurry up. Government resources are being spent here, you know." Master Kenobi frowned apologetically.

"Without the Hutt Cartel on his side, Dooku rules a patchwork collection of planets scattered along the galaxy all along the Outer Rim. A concerted attack might let him through, and Mandalore would certainly seal the deal. But he needs more. With the Hutts' support, or at least their tacit approval, the Confederacy becomes a wave sweeping across the galaxy from east to west. Unstoppable."

"From what I can tell about the criminal underworld, the low-life scum and villainy seem to prefer the Confederacy, but large rackets like the Hutt Cartel seem to prefer the Republic with its corruptible bureaucracy." Padmé seemed almost pained to admit this fact. "I've fielded numerous... offers. Self-serving deals to aid criminal organizations. I denied them all, of course, and my security team did their best to track them down. We caught a few, but not all."

"Precisely. Dooku needs clear evidence that the Republic is trying to delegitimize or usurp Jabba for the Hutts to change their traditional stance."

"A false flag operation," said Anakin. "Master, we need to relay this information to the Council immediately."

"But surely Jabba is intelligent enough that he knows we are not stupid enough to try such a thing, while a war is going on?" asked Kenobi, stroking his beard in thought.

"Naturally. It won't be a false flag operation Dooku carries out. It'll be a false flag false flag operation."

Obi-Wan's eyes lit up at that. "Of course." He pulled out a holocommunicator from his Jedi robes and stepped out of the room. After around a minute of furious discussion, he returned. "The Council has decided. The Jedi Order shall employ your services directly."

"Too bad, Anakin," said Harry. "It was bound to happen anyway."

"We will pay you on a sliding scale of four thousand or more credits a day, depending on performance."

"I'll take it." Internally, Harry wondered just how desperate the Jedi were to learn his secrets - and employ his admittedly superior expertise - if they were willing to pay more than even the Count would, with no firm upper cap set. "But if I win a planetary battle for you, I expect no less than fifty thousand."

Obi-Wan hesitated for just a fraction of a moment. "Granted."

Anakin scoffed. "Just how many planetary battles do you think you can win single handedly?"

"Oh, somewhere around eleven or twelve. It really depends on the week."

The glaring continued unabated.

"Call off your men. You can explain to the press that the Jedi are hiring an oh-so-evil bounty hunter because he happened to save the Senator's life." Harry strode out of the room, and had he been wearing robes, they would have billowed in a way that made Severus Snape envious.

"There's no way we can do that, master! Black is responsible - we can't let him take credit for saving Padmé!"

"It is the only way we can tenably hold down Sirius Black long enough to understand his motivations, Anakin," said Obi-Wan. "It is a dangerous game the Council wants us to play: we shall be the ones accompanying Mortem. But he shows knowledge of matters, which, by all rights, should have been expunged from public record long ago. Histories relating to the Jedi Order."

"You mean to this Revan figure?" asked Senator Amidala. "How can he be important to the war that is currently going on, the war whose opening I slept through!"

Anakin heard the word he had come to accept was necessary when dealing with Mortem.

"It's classified. Even I barely know the details of it all. I'm sorry, Padmé, that I cannot tell you further."

~penumbral~

Obi-Wan watched Mortem sweep out of the hospital room with a sigh. Events were coming to a head far quicker than he ever could have imagined on that first day of strife on the landing pad as he watched a planted bomb obliterate the Senator's trusted handmaiden. Secrets within secrets and agendas within agendas were only beginning to be revealed - starting with Dooku's plan for the Hutts. The war would be an unpleasant one, he could already tell, and a harrowing one. He could only hope that Anakin was up to the challenge.

Anakin worked through Jedi relaxation exercises as the infuriating bounty hunter exited the room. The man kept too many secrets from the Jedi, and a secret or two related to the ancient history of the galaxy. It made him suspect there was something more behind the man - and Sith was top of Anakin's list of Mortem's potential secret identities. When the man turned around and stabbed them in the back with a crimson red lightsaber - and Anakin knew that he would, it was only a matter of time -, Anakin would be there at his master's side to parry, repel, and defeat the man.

Padmé seated herself against the bed's headboard with a groan. The bounty hunter, Mortem, who had apparently both taken her out and revived her, was a mystery, but simply another element among countless that she had to contend with, waking up as a Senator during wartime. The man showed a confidence bordering on arrogance, and a mind capable of military strategy. But his deductions also belied a belief that he knew enough about the internal workings of the Confederacy to predict its actions - as well as a good enough view of Count Dooku and other Confederacy officials to be able to confidently discern the outcomes of the coming battles. Not to mention, the Jedi Council seemed inordinately interested in the man, for reasons they kept hidden - and as far as Padmé could tell, rightly so. Regardless of the man's motives, the Republic, and her home planet of Naboo, would not fall on her watch. Not ten years ago, when the droid armies of the Trade Federation crunched through Theed and took the royal palace. Not now, as the droid hordes of the Confederacy made designs upon Hutt Space, Mandalore, Malastare, Eriadu, and, chiefly, Naboo herself. Never.

~penumbral~

"I can't believe I signed up for this only to be dragged in front of you two again." Harry glared at the Jedi Council, and more specifically, at Yoda and Mace Windu. The other Jedi either sat or were represented by holograms, some of them having already taken up their duties as battles broke out across the Outer Rim. The conflicts roughly matched the pattern Harry had laid out, with sweeping moves towards the Core. The Confederacy was trying to hit the Republic hard and fast.

Flanking Harry stood Anakin and Obi-Wan.

"You're here for an initial debriefing," said Windu. "You will be minded by Skywalker and Kenobi. Know them well, because they will be your allies on the battlefield. Beyond that, there are certain standards that the Jedi Order holds all its members to. As you have not undergone extensive training from a young age, we will spare you the more restrictive aspects of the order. Regardless, there are certain rules I must make clear to you. You shall not commit or aid in the process of committing felonies, treachery, racketeering, slavery, prostitution, gambling over the amount of a hundred thousand credits, and shall not break any planetary, system, sector, or Republic laws. You may not commit any acts which, if revealed, would besmirch the name of the Jedi Order. All of this comes with the provision that such acts may be committed under extenuating circumstances pursuant to the agreement of either Skywalker or Kenobi, or, should circumstances necessitate prompt action, the retroactive agreement of such."

Mace Windu looked up from a holopad he was reading from. "The Jedi Order, regardless, reserves the right to terminate its relationship with you at any time, with or without notice. You may or may not be made aware of said termination before being apprehended and brought in for questioning. Any questions?"

"So suppose I knew that we'd win a battle only if I engaged in... interpersonal relations with a hot Zeltron -"

"No."

"I was going to ask if I shouldn't have sex with her!"

A chuckle was heard from the general direction of Plo Koon, but the masked Jedi turned it into a hacking cough at the last second.

Mace Windu frowned in disapproval. "Your team has free reign, but acts according to a voting system of all its members. The Council's orders, of course, overrides all others."

"I feel like I'm signing my soul away or something," complained Harry.

"Anakin, stop by the Archives for a second before departing. Kenobi, watch Black before you depart. The Council recommends you travel to either Rodia, Ryloth, or Christophsis to aid in the developing situations on that front. You are dismissed."

"I think we'll go to Tatooine," decided Harry. "It's in the general area, and besides, we need to go anyway."

Anakin groaned. "I vote against."

"What? Do you hate the sand, or something?" Harry noticed Obi-Wan in the periphery of his vision mouthing 'Don't get him started.'

"You are dismissed," ground out Windu.

"I agree with Sirius," said Obi-Wan as the three departed. "We must communicate with Jabba first, and set forth a clear agreement that he not aid the Confederacy. Dooku may be acting against the Republic with his machinations even as we speak."

"Let's go, then," said Harry impatiently. "We can be the Three Musketeers. Or the three noble Republic spec-ops agents," he amended. "We strike fear into the hearts of our enemies. Not that we have enemies, because we're peace-loving agents of the Jedi Order and all."

Obi-Wan glanced at Anakin, who rolled his eyes in frustration. Traveling with Mortem was going to be eventful, at the very least. Not that the Jedi Master and his Padawan - though it was unfair to call Anakin that anymore - hadn't had their fair share of adventure in the past decade.

~penumbral~

After waiting in the hangar for the rest of his party, Harry groaned when he saw the addition to their party. "Are we the Four Musketeers, now?" He cast a judging eye over the young female Togruta, Skywalker's new padawan learner.

She seemed impressionable and eager to please, but too attached to the traditions of the Jedi Order to convert away from Skywalker. Unfortunate, but Harry wasn't exactly in the business of taking on an apprentice, and she had undoubtedly already been fed lies about his character.

"What's your name?"

"Ahsoka Tano."

"Well, don't get killed, don't get us killed, don't screw up, and we'll get along just fine."

The small apprentice nodded apprehensively, in an almost endearing way, as a moderately sized ship opened its ramp before them.

"This is our transport, the Refuge," said Kenobi as the four ascended the ramp. "Anakin will be flying us to all of our locations. As decided, we shall go confer with Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine first, before tending to the matters of the southern front, as recommended by the Council."

"Makes sense," said Harry as he moved to inspect the living quarters of the ship. As one of the five doors in front of him slid open, revealing a modest cabin with a bed and sonic refresher in the corner, he pursed his lips. "It'll do," he said.

"I'll leave you for now. Dinner's at forty after - Anakin's cooking."

"Should I check for poison?" asked Harry jokingly.

"You might want to hold back on the drinks," said the Jedi Master, keeping a straight enough face that Harry wasn't sure if the man was pulling his leg.

"I shall leave you for now. And Mister Black?"

"Yes?"

"This is not a cell, so please do try to keep the room intact this time. Damages will be subtracted from your pay."

~penumbral~

 _"Awaken."_

 _A lifeless world painted in tones of gray stretched before him, drenched in dark gray fog. The monotony coated him, stretching infinitely far and immeasurably wide. The stars above formed patterns in the sky, but dim, unfamiliar ones._

 _Below his feet, a simple figure carved into the desert of dust. He traced it slowly with his eyes, uncomprehending for a moment in his disbelief._

 _Triangle. Circle. Line._

 _Death._

 _"Show yourself!" he demanded to the swirling mists before him. "You who carved this symbol - appear!" His hand dropped to the pocket of his garment, a long, flowing black robe._

 _A faint, impersonal voice echoed softly throughout the landscape, whispering incoherent, sinister nothings and rising in its intensity. The rhythmic utterances reached their peak as he grasped a smooth wand of elder._

 _"I await you at the end that is the beginning."_

Harry Potter jerked awake, his hand moving in a flourish as the wand in his hand traced out an intricate defensive pattern.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:24, Corellian Run near Gamor._

Cold, bare hands clasped together as the vibrations from the sonic shower erased the grime which had coated them. An hour prior those hands had flickered over numerous holopads, searching for ancient secrets long buried and evidence of historical strife which led farther and farther back the deeper it lay. The search was unsuccessful as of yet, but the hands, and their master, were patient in their toil. Truth was ever fleeting, and required great strength to pin down. But it was more important than ever to unravel the mysteries which lay at the heart of all things.

Green eyes slid up the length of the mirror, locking onto their reflection as the sound waves bounced through the air around. Harry Potter gazed long into his own eyes, and wondered.

A thousand personas flickered past, appearing and fading, all of them fleeting but each vying for dominance. Men fought and killed and lived and loved, but -

 _Who am I?_

It was but a whisper, but it resonated deeper than the waves flowing around him. A thought born of idle mind, traitorous but which nevertheless had taken root due to its tenacity - or, he feared, due to its inner kernel of truth. A possibility he had long ago quashed, but not seriously considered nor properly dealt with. It once more reared its ugly head.

His skill at Occlumency alone was not great enough for this task. He was not a carefully structured thinker, not a Dumbledore nor a Granger. He tore.

He looked straight ahead, met his gaze dead-on, and whispered a single word.

 _Legilimens._

~penumbral~

 _Apprehension spiked into his being: an ornate, flowery vase lay cracked on the floor. Its pieces were sharp, dangerous, firm, but broken. The parts were less than the whole, yet somehow more: more loose, more dangerous. They challenged the uniformity and order of the room around._

 _He looked up, but the room was not a drab, middle-class construction but a nursery of soft blues, with a painted ceiling showing stars twinkling above. They shined brighter for a brief second, as green engulfed his vision and the world turned white._

 _Snow was falling ever so softly upon the ground of the forest as he searched desperately for a small, rough capsule of truth hidden. It was lurking somewhere, but always beyond sight._

 _It seemed consciousness always set in among the cold. All he was stripped bare, exposed to the harsh elements of the mother of all: he quested for truth, but it always lay just beyond his grasp. Disorientation first._

 _Then frustration, then memory, then analysis, then resolve._

 _I will find it._

 _Three spindly threads, delicately painted a brilliant green, stood in stark contrast to the dark trees behind them. He reached out, grasped with his hand, and caught the three at once, crushing them in his coarse grip, crossing the strands before tearing them._

 _"Welcome, Harry Potter." A delicate gold and silver mirror stood grand and tall, and the voice whispered once more._

 _"- your mother's eyes." The man knelt down, clasping his hands together. He spoke._

 _"Give me the Stone!" Hands, reaching towards him as he stood bound by ropes._

 _"- forcibly taken... you will... resurrect your foe." Blood trickled down his arm._

 _A majestic white beast reared its feet and galloped into the sky, a man borne on its back._

 _Black and white took shape in unison, rising upwards and forming into a body crowned by a pinnacle of scarlet red eyes. They gazed into his as he tried to understand._

 _More strands waited, fading in and out with the shifting around him. He studied them, judged them, and they seemed to study him back. Some beckoned, singing sweet promises of secrets unveiled, but he knew himself enough to not trust them._

 _He grabbed more. More and more and more and more, reality not keeping up with his lustful frenzy. He outpaced the manufacturing, the distrusted veils, the potential lies. Only truth at the core of his being._

 _They shifted and slowed, twisted and mingled, curling and curling until -_

 _The world shattered, and he was truly alone. No sensations assaulted him; no cloying smells or ringing sounds or smooth touches. He looked but could not see._

 _Somewhere along, he had found it but lost it. Or perhaps he had never found it, unknowing as he was even as he stumbled across it._

 _He thought and thought and thought._

 _Who am I?_

His tenuous brand of existence came to an end with a flash. All became white, then dull. He understood the wall before him, and only then did he see it.

He fumbled, grasped the controls, and the sonic shower clicked off.

~penumbral~

 **A/N: Finally we see some of the man behind the mask. The writing style of the self-Legilimency was a little bit of an experiment, so if you thought it was fascinating, do tell.**


	7. Chapter 7

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:25, Tatooine._

A large, raised platform stood before the four as they stood - some nervous, like Ahsoka, and some unnaturally calm, like the Jedi, and some bored, like Harry.

"Welcome, Master Jedi and guests," said a shiny protocol droid at Jabba's side, translating for the ugly slug. "The glorious Jabba invites you into his abode. What is the purpose of your visit?"

"We are here as ambassadors for the Republic, concerning recent matters that have come to a head."

Jabba grunted as he heard Obi-Wan's response.

"The powerful Jabba suspects that you are here to talk about the war with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. He would like to hear what you have to propose to him."

"As you know, the Confederacy has shown elements which will prove bad for the galaxy as a whole - the Republic, and even your own holdings. We are here to ask that you not provide support to Confederacy forces - and, if possible, to deny them access to this region of space."

"The mightiest of Hutts, Jabba, wonders why the Jedi have stooped to resorting with criminals to get their jobs done. He asks if you do not have an ulterior motive to coming here today."

"Such as?" asked Obi-Wan cautiously.

"Ho ho ho!"

"It's a trap," whispered Harry furiously. "We've been had."

Every bounty hunter and criminal in the room drew their blasters in unison. The Jedi drew their lightsabers, and Harry drew his blaster with one hand as he grasped his wand with the other.

Jabba slapped on a button, and Harry braced himself for imminent explosions, but instead, a hologram displayed from the raised dais the giant slug laid upon, showing assault droids storming a large building on a dark, damp planet before detonating charges which laid waste to the entire thing.

"Just five standard hours ago, the enlightened Jabba received a communication bearing the news that Confederacy droids had attacked a residential building in Nal Hutta, attempted to demand ransom and strategic concessions by the Hutts, and, when the eminent Jabba refused to bow to their whims, destroyed the building, killing thousands of innocent Hutts and Hutt children."

Harry internally shuddered to even think of Hutts reproducing, and apparently the rest of his party shared his sentiment from the looks on their faces.

"Now, ambassadors from the Republic come calling, looking for an alliance against the Confederacy. The Hutt Cartel is not stupid, Master Jedi. The Cartel knows that the Confederacy would not be so foolish as to try the scheme that played out on the sacred homeworld of the Hutts. The droids, under further analysis, show visual similarity but fundamental mechanical differences from Confederacy and Trade Federation droid models. The convenient timing, along with other evidence, suggests another suspect. The mighty Jabba is not easily fooled, Jedi."

"False flag false flag," muttered Kenobi with a groan.

"Dooku," said Harry. He was a tad annoyed that the man had beaten him to the punch. They should have set up their own operation before coming to Tatooine; Dooku most likely had spies that had been waiting for the Jedi's ship to approach the planet, and when they reached, the droids had attacked on Nal Hutta.

"It seems the Republic has chosen its side in this conflict. The Hutts have chosen theirs."

Jabba brought his arm down on another button, closing his section off from the Jedi by a transparisteel window, and this time both Jedi tensed as they sensed a warning through the Force.

Harry, of course, being a bounty hunter, had heard the stories. He pushed the Jedi to the side as the floor beneath them opened up, drawing a blaster and holly wand in tandem with the snap-hiss of three lightsabers igniting.

Harry wasn't concerned; fifteen drunk bounty hunters, ten sycophants, four Gamorrean guards, five scared dancers, and Bib Fortuna stood no chance against two and a half Jedi. And him, of course.

"What's that?"

"Trade secret," said Harry, smiling. "Let's keep it at 'exotic matter-manipulation technology,'" he continued as he let loose: a group of bounty hunters dropped down in flames, igniting the alcohol that was spilled all over their table. Let them think it was technology; they'd fall prey to their own preconceptions, assuming that the Force is greater than all gadgets and devices.

The Jedi began a deadly dance, deflecting blaster bolts and slowly drawing closer to the mass of foes. Harry, on the other hand, twirled round, throwing magical streaks of skin-boiling fire and bone-shattering, sheer force in equal measure to those who dared draw close. After a while, none did.

The Jedi abruptly stopped when a scream rang across the room. A Twi'lek bounty hunter had gotten the better of Ahsoka and strapped a thermal detonator to her neck. He staggered backward into a pool of water, but remained standing and held up a trigger grasped closely in his right hand: the threat was clear.

Obi-Wan and Anakin reluctantly sheathed their lightsabers, the latter with a furious expression on his face as he narrowed his eyes, searching for a way out of the dilemma.

"You there, throw down your weapon!" shouted the hunter to Harry.

Harry slowly raised his hands, dropping the blaster from his hand, before flicking his wand quickly: the water below the bounty hunter rose up and around his arm, freezing as it went. In a second, the hunter's hand was frozen firmly around the trigger; seconds later, Anakin's lightsaber sliced cleanly through the Twi'lek's head before he removed the detonator.

Obi-Wan simply sighed at Anakin's brashness, looking upon the severed head with measured civility.

"It's all right," said Anakin to the crying Togruta.

"I thought I was going to -"

Harry turned away, recalling his first brush with death all too clearly and deciding to give them space.

Before long, after surveying the mass of bodies beneath them - Jabba had fled from behind his transparisteel barrier long ago -, the four turned and walked out.

~penumbral~

"I was telling you we never should have come," said Anakin the moment they made it back to their ship.

"In hindsight, we should've set up our own operation before contacting Jabba," said Harry.

"Operation?" asked Obi-Wan. "I was under the impression that all our activities would be strictly legal, as per Council guidelines."

"We were given special powers by the Supreme Chancellor himself," noted Anakin, "so everything we do is legal. Black is -" He swallowed a grimace. "- right. We should have tried to discredit Dooku before approaching Jabba. Ahsoka, come with me. We'll practice meditation, which will help clear your mind."

Harry and Obi-Wan watched the two leave the main cabin towards the training area.

"We need to gather evidence to convince the Hutts that it was a set-up," said the Jedi Master.

"I suppose," said Harry. "But Nal Hutta is a fortress in the best of times, open only to Hutts and a select few from other species. And it's not like we'll have an easy time through Hutt Space. I say we ditch the ship."

"This is a million-credit design from the Republic itself. We cannot simply -"

"Fine. But remember that I told you it was a bad idea."

The pair walked towards the cockpit, and Obi-Wan sat down in the pilot's seat, Harry in the seat beside him. With a sudden lurch, the ship rose as the Jedi master tapped several buttons before grimacing. "I hate flying."

"I could fly," offered Harry.

"I don't think Anakin trusts you enough for me to let you do that."

"If he had a problem with it, he'd be here piloting himself."

"He needs to train his Padawan, else the poor soul will be lagging behind in every of our battles."

The ship reached the edge of Tatooine's gravity well and shot off into hyperspace.

~penumbral~

 _GrS 13:5:26, Nar Shaddaa._

The Smuggler's Moon rose from behind Nal Hutta as the ship inched towards the birthplace of the Hutts. Below, the planet swarmed with ships of all designs, alight with activity due to the recent attack on the home planet itself - an unthinkable event, one that had not occurred in at least a few millennia.

A transmission request came in and Harry let it through.

"Nal Hutta space security here. You will fly slowly towards the Moon. You will not attempt to approach the planet, or you will be shot out of the sky. Acknowledge."

"Acknowledged," said Harry, used to the attempted intimidation by the Hutts' cronies. "Set the course."

When they came closer to Nar Shaddaa, the security began to run scans on their ship, checking to see if their ships matched known enemies of the Hutts.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Obi-Wan.

"Million credits or not, it's worthless if everyone's got your model and everyone's after you."

"I suppose you were correct," conceded Kenobi. "But for now, we must make it a priority to get out of here alive."

"The gravity well extends too far, so we'll have to do the old-fashioned beeline to the moon's surface." Harry rubbed his hands. "This'll be fun."

"Anakin! Get yourself and Ahsoka to the turrets!"

Below them, the swarms of ships coalesced and made straight for their ship, already firing at the _Refuge_. The shots flew wide but the warning was well understood.

"Full power to thrusters," said Obi-Wan. "Ease it slowly, but not too slowly."

"Eighty... ninety... one hundred percent."

"Shields are up."

"At least our engines are better than most of theirs down there. A million credits not entirely wasted," said Harry. "But still."

The faster of the Hutt ships were long, thin affairs - but sleek and smooth along the slight curve of the hulls. The guns glinted menacingly as they reflected light from the sun, screaming past and circling around.

"First two squadrons incoming." As the hail of fire enveloped them, the shields nearly buckled under the strain. Two ships exploded beside them, and a third turned into a ball of fire as Anakin and Ahsoka furiously opened fire on the enemies. But there were simply too many enemies, and the moon was still too far.

After the group of enemy fighters made another pass, Harry considered adding his talents into the mix. He'd be subtle, though. "We need to oversupply the engine," he stated, calmly watching stars blur and enemy ships streak past.

"That cannot even be possible," said Obi-Wan. "Hundred percent is quite literally the upper edge of energy efficiency, and any more energy would, regardless, begin to melt the engines themselves."

"Just unlock the engine room before I blow down its door."

Obi-Wan reluctantly pressed a dull blue button off to the side, and Harry jumped out of his seat and ran to the back, passing the living quarters and turrets. The door to the engines opened with a hiss as he drew his wand.

Inside, large cylinders of glowing metal screeched as they pushed energy out the back at the maximum possible rate. A faint, electronic whirring underlay the various rough sounds which echoed through the hot room.

He stabbed his wand through the energy field which protected the outside environment from one of the engines, and channeled energy into the engine. It glowed brighter and hotter, but spewed ionized gas out of the back at a greater rate. The ship lurched and sped up, but careened wildly as the imbalance between the two engines turned it to the side from the sheer torque applied.

"Black, you need to balance the engine outputs!" came Kenobi's voice over the speaker system as Harry fell to the ground with a thump. He narrowed his eyes. He wouldn't be able to augment both engines at the same time, unless...

Reluctantly, he reached down and drew the Elder Wand from another pocket. The smooth wood sang under its touch, content to be reunited with its master after years of disuse.

He had avoided the wand for daily use because of the unsettling way it cast, as if it had a mind of his own. A mind beholden to his will, but a mind nonetheless.

He jabbed both wands through the shields, spreading his arms like a heroic figure of old about to meet his death. This time, the engines sped equally and the ship shot off towards the moon.

"It's working," came Obi-Wan's voice. "We're outstripping their pace, but -" The ship shuddered, nearly unbalancing Harry. "- the planet and moon seems to have their own, powerful defenses."

Harry's solution was to pour more magic into the engines, though he could feel the heat of resistance emanating from his holly wand alongside the echoing arias of the Elder Wand's delight. Now, molten masses of metal from the engines' casing began to shear off, the thick durasteel becoming a viscous liquid under the powerful magic combined with already hot energy of the engines.

The ship shuddered again. "We're in the atmosphere of the moon, and I'm trying to level the ship now so we don't crash straight into the ground."

Just in time, as the last of the engine casings peeled off, revealing inner workings within which glowed brightly too, before detonating.

~penumbral~

Obi-Wan felt the end of the ship shear off, and in the chaotic, swirling mass of energy released couldn't tell if Mortem was dead. He would operate under the assumption that he was, though.

"Anakin, Ahsoka, we need to evacuate the ship. Meet me by airlock two."

He beat a hasty retreat to the airlock, where Anakin and Ahsoka were waiting.

"What happened to Sirius?" asked Ahsoka.

Obi-Wan's expression told her everything she needed to know. They huddled together. Then, with a tap to the override, both doors slid open and the low pressure near the top of the atmosphere of Nar Shaddaa sucked them violently out.

The three slowed their descend with the Force, combining their efforts in unison and letting the mystical energy flow freely between them. They landed with a soft thud in an open space atop a tall building lit by neon signs - just like all the other buildings as far as the eye could see.

"Welcome to Nar Shaddaa, Miss Tano," said Obi-Wan. "Or, more commonly, the Smuggler's Moon."

Ahsoka looked up at the elder Jedi, her faced flushed. "That was amazing! I could feel it flow, not just..." She floundered at an explanation.

Anakin and Obi-Wan nodded. Anakin smiled, but Obi-Wan remained grim.

"Our ally is as far as I can feel dead. He gave his life to save us."

Anakin frowned. "It makes no sense. He was such an arrogant, narcissistic fool. Maybe he miscalculated, and thought he'd make it out alive?"

"Do not disrespect the dead, Anakin," said Obi-Wan sternly.

"Of course, Master," said Anakin, chastened. "He did save our lives, and perhaps we should have been more respectful of him."

"There is nothing left to do but carry on in our mission," said Obi-Wan. "It would be dishonorable not to give our best efforts to amend the relationship between the Hutts and the Republic now, given that Dooku's vile machinations in that area have claimed already a life. More will follow, if we do nothing."

Ahsoka looked around at the flashing lights surrounding them. "Where do we even start?"

"We'll need a Hutt to get onto Nal Hutta's surface to investigate the crime scene. We need to scout around and find a Hutt who isn't as aligned with Jabba and the Hutt Cartel as a whole. It'll be difficult, and require much stealth."

~penumbral~

Had Harry heard the Jedi's conversation extolling his virtues, he would've laughed. He was never in any danger, but if it earned him points with the Jedi, he wouldn't complain.

He had slightly more important things to do than wonder whether the Jedi thought him dead, though. As his shield created a protective bubble around him, the floor gave out and the large explosion thrust him downwards with massive force. In the blink of an eye, he was sailing past the tops of buildings and falling lower.

He slowed his fall with a flick of his wands, although it was more falling less fast than it was falling slow. He could bring himself to a full halt with the Elder Wand, but the acceleration would still kill him. Based on the rate at which the ground was approaching - the lowest parts of Nar Shaddaa -, he wouldn't have time to decelerate.

Instead, he brandished the Elder Wand and coated himself with a strong shield. It resisted the defensive maneuver slightly, preferring to ring with the power of offensive magic. But it complied, because it recognized him as master. The shield flared into a bright pod of energy around him as he poured energy into it just as he impacted the ground.

The excess energy vaporized the ground and he barrelled underground - the lowest level of Nar Shaddaa actually had dirt, unlike Coruscant -, breaking through levels upon levels of underground networks that had no doubt been built millennia before when the Hutts first colonized their moon.

Finally he drew to a halt, several stories beneath the moon's surface, as he crashed down and the floor beneath him did not give way. He allowed his shield to flicker away and pocketed his holly wand, holding the Deathstick aloft.

He groaned as he now felt the pain of several broken bones - the jolts of force when he broke through several floors of dirt, rock, and rusted durasteel had still exacted a toll on his body.

From now on, he would call no stops and hold back none of his abilities. He wouldn't do anything too ridiculous, making it plausible in a universe with the Force and advanced technology and attributing his abilities to his wand. The Jedi Order and Sith would fear his abilities, but still believe they could best him. They were arrogant in that way.

~penumbral~

Obi-Wan was out securing a place they could stay, so Anakin and Ahsoka were assigned the duty of scouting out the local crime scene. It would help Ahsoka, decided the two Jedi, to get hands-on experience with criminal dealings and tracking down wrongdoers as they jumped between rackets and black markets.

Besides, they had to find a Hutt with connections who'd be willing to get them to the surface of Nal Hutta. They'd delayed deliberating on how to get back out of the system, but it was well understood that it would either require a large amount of money made through shady transactions. They could call for help to the Jedi Order, but it would take several weeks, require the effort of a Jedi Master who could be aiding the Republic elsewhere, and still ran the risk of getting caught. After that, nothing short of a full invasion would be able to save them, and Obi-Wan wasn't willing to take that risk.

"Remember, just act like you're supposed to be here. You'll do fine." Anakin and Ahsoka wore hoods, their faces darkened so that none would recognize them - or harass Ahsoka, as was common to happen to young females in seedy bars.

The two approached the bartender. "What can I get for you two?" asked the blue, male Twi'lek.

"Two shots of juma juice," said Anakin. "And perhaps some information."

"Oh?" the bartender leaned in, showing interest.

"We're new in this area," said Ahsoka, controlling her voice to avoid showing her nervousness. "We were wondering if there were any, ah, opportunities."

"You might want to check out Tolla the Hutt, the unofficial king of Nar Shaddaa. He's often here, in the back. He owns the place - the other cantinas are merely under his protection." The Twi'lek puffed up his chest with pride.

"And?"

"You can often find odd jobs by looking at the miscellaneous postings at the far wall, or by asking around." The Twi'lek lowered his voice. "I'd be careful, though. Some of the more experienced contractors don't like outsiders infringing on their sources of income." He glanced up, and his eyes widened as a green Rodian with luminous purple eyes approached.

"Ah, Greedo. How nice to see you around."

"Who are the newcomers?" spat Greedo in harsh Rodian.

"I hadn't gotten the opportunity to ask them their names, as they had just asked for drinks," said the Twi'lek smoothly. "You may call me Jalek, by the way."

Anakin nodded, and the two gave fake names they'd agreed upon with Obi-Wan. Then they left, with silent nods to Greedo, and entered the back room of the cantina, where they found a small Hutt with several advisers.

A protocol droid stepped forward, and as opposed to Jabba's bombastic translation droids, this one simply translated the speech directly.

"What do you seek, travelers?"

"We seek work," said Anakin.

"I see that you ask for less than you want. Respectable. Most come here out of greed, but you have arrived for some other reason."

"You can read our motives well," said Anakin cautiously. "You are -"

"If I am to provide what you seek, then your anonymity must be erased. Lower your hoods."

Anakin hesitated and Ahsoka tensed, and the silence extended into a pregnant pause.

"Ho ho ho!"

Anakin held his hand out to Ahsoka in warning: they couldn't draw their lightsabers to reveal themselves, but if they didn't, then Tolla's guards would force open their hoods.

"No weapons, martial arts only," he said quietly. She nodded in apprehension.

Then the guards rushed them, brandishing vibroblades. Anakin ducked under two swipes and came around, tossing one guard into another and sending them tumbling in a heap below. He then countered another blow and twisted it back before punching the next guard. Swirling through the air, he arrived just in time as a Gamorrean tried to swipe an axe at Ahsoka, who had downed one foe and was grappling fiercely with another. He caught the blade and pushed it to the ground, unbalancing the portly alien and toppling it with the sheer force of his blow.

He felt through the Force a final enemy lunge behind him, and he twirled - but to attack him was not the Trandoshan's intent. Rather, a scaly arm reached out and caught the tip of his hood as he turned, exposing his face for all to see.

"Ho ho ho! Anakin Skywalker!"

Anakin and Ahsoka drew their lightsabers in a flash, blue and green casting a glow across the darkened room.

"Worry not, Skywalker. I am no great supporter of Jabba and the Hutt Cartel. We dirty our hands by associating with the lowest of scum, when our great ancestors before ruled planets and built an empire. This, I say, is what we should return to."

"You'll help us get to Nal Hutta to investigate the recent attacks?"

"I had heard that it was treachery by the Republic which led to the attack, but perhaps the Hutts are mistaken. Regardless, I will help you - if you help me."

"Of course."

"As you may know, I run a criminal operation on this moon. We use tunnels through the lower city to avoid... unnecessary attention. Our profit margins have nearly doubled due to the fewer amount of weapons and men we need to defend our... shipments. But in the past few months, multiple shipments have gone missing, with no sign remaining of the men we've sent. Some of the best bounty hunters in our employ have fallen to these attacks, which only cease in the presence of heavily armed companies. It's cut heavily into our profit margins."

"Drugs?" asked Anakin.

"The content of these shipments need not be known."

"So we find whoever's doing this and report back to you?"

"I want them before me, alive, but failing that, dead. And when you reach the planet's surface, I will have another task for you."

With that, Anakin and Ahsoka left the room, sheathing their lightsabers as they went.

~penumbral~


End file.
